NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 18 – A Nairobi court has issued a split ruling in two miscellaneous applications touching on the investigation and detention of Activist Mwagodi Mwabili, handing investigators partial relief while ordering his immediate release under strict conditions.
In the first application, the court allowed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to retain Mwabili’s mobile phone to facilitate ongoing investigations into his activities on the social media platform X.
The investigators had argued that the device was central to their probe, saying it could contain crucial digital evidence linked to posts and interactions on his X account. In its ruling, the court agreed that the phone was a necessary exhibit and permitted the DCI to continue holding it for forensic examination.
However, in the second application, the court declined a request by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to continue detaining Mwabili.
Instead, the court ordered that Mwabili be set free with immediate effect, ruling that further detention was not justified at this stage.
The magistrate, however, imposed reporting conditions, directing Mwabili to present himself at the DCI offices every day at 9am for seven consecutive days. He must report in the company of his lawyer.
The court said the reporting requirement was intended to ensure Mwabili’s availability to investigators as the probe continues.
Mwagodi was on Sunday arrested at the Lunga Lunga Border Police Post after immigration officials allegedly stopped him from leaving the country, citing a Red Notice said to have been issued earlier this year.
In a statement posted on his official X account, Mwagodi said he was en route to Dar es Salaam when officers intercepted him at the border and informed him that his passport had been flagged.
According to him, the alert was linked to a Red Notice allegedly placed around January or February 2025 by an officer attached to the Serious Crimes Unit of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), based at Mazingira House along Kiambu Road.
Mwagodi claimed that the officer involved did not disclose the specific offence or formal charge connected to the purported warrant.
He said he was subsequently detained at Lunga Lunga Police Station, where officers indicated they were awaiting instructions from DCI headquarters.
The activist further alleged that both the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) and a DCI officer visited his holding cell on February 16 and confirmed that they were still seeking guidance on how to proceed with the matter.
However, other police officers reportedly claimed that Mwagodi posed a danger in Tanzania.
The arrest comes months after Mwagodi was reportedly abducted in Dar es Salaam under unclear circumstances.
He disappeared on July 23, 2025, while travelling by public transport in Tanzania, where he worked in the hospitality sector. His mobile phone was switched off, and his family was unable to establish his whereabouts.
