NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 2 – Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot has strongly criticized the arrest of Rose Njeri, a software developer who was taken into custody last Friday for creating an online platform designed to facilitate public participation in the Finance Bill 2025/2026.
Speaking during an interview with NTV on Monday, June 2, the Kericho Senator described the platform developed by Njeri as ‘brilliant’ and expressed dismay over her detention.
He questioned the justification for her arrest, suggesting that it goes against the democratic ideals the country should uphold.
“I saw the story that an activist had been apprehended and had been taken somewhere, and I did not follow up until this morning. Today I saw that her family and advocates were denied access to her, which is not a good thing. I believe this is not what we envisioned as a country,” Cheruiyot said.
“What troubled me more, though, is the reason that she is being apprehended, or rather, what is being reported as the reason for her apprehension. I thought what she had done was brilliant, unless there is something else that we have not been told,” he added.
Cheruiyot also condemned the actions of officers at Pangani Police Station, where Njeri is being held, noting that barring access to legal counsel and family members contradicts constitutional values and the right to due process.
The Senate Majority Leader further emphasised the importance of modernising public participation mechanisms in the legislative process, especially as the country prepares to debate the contentious Finance Bill 2025/2026.
Cheruiyot stressed the need for Parliament to embrace technology-driven solutions for collecting public input.
“I reflected on the motion that we moved in the Senate immediately after the Gen Z protests, and part of the recommendations that we made is that Parliament has to come up with new ways of receiving public feedback beyond traditional means. So there has to be a proper way of a feedback system,” he said.
Software developer and activist Rose Njeri was arrested on Friday, May 31, 2025, in Nairobi’s South B estate by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Her arrest followed the creation of “Civic Email,” an online platform designed to facilitate public objections to the proposed Finance Bill 2025 by enabling citizens to send their feedback directly to the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Finance Committee.
Following her arrest, Njeri was taken to Pangani Police Station, where she has been detained without formal charges or bail.
Efforts by her legal team, including senior counsel John Khaminwa, to secure her release have been unsuccessful. Khaminwa reported that the officer in charge at Pangani stated his hands were tied regarding granting bail.
During the arrest, DCI officers searched Njeri’s home without presenting a search warrant, confiscating her work tools, including computers, hard drives, and phones.
Her family members, including her mother, Naomi Njoki, have expressed concern over her health, noting that she suffers from anemia and that the conditions of her detention are detrimental to her well-being.
