Activist Ademba freed on Sh20,000 bail after Ol Kalou by-election arrest

Niko Kadi, founder Allans Ademba

Activist Allans Ademba has been released after posting a cash bail of Sh20,000 following his arrest during Thursday's Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, the Defenders Coalition has said.

Police are still holding Ademba's camera and mobile phone, confiscated when he was arrested, the coalition noted in a statement.

Ademba, popularly known as the "Niko Kadi" mobiliser, was picked up on Thursday, July 16, at AC Comprehensive School Polling Station and taken to the Ol Kalou Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices.

He was arrested for allegedly filming the electoral process without accreditation as a journalist, amid concerns by police that his social media activity could incite the public, according to reports.

His lawyer, Melvine Thogo, said Ademba was not working as a journalist but documenting the poll under the Niko Kadi civic initiative, which encourages youth to register and vote.

"He was there following the Tuko Kadi initiative to see how the youth were being engaged in the election process and whether those they had registered were actually turning up to vote," Thogo explained.

No charges have been preferred against Ademba, the Defenders Coalition disclosed. He is due before Ol Kalou Law Courts on August 3, when the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) will decide whether to charge him.

"He is scheduled to appear before Ol Kalou Law Courts on August 3, 2026, when it is expected that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will prefer charges," the coalition said in a post on X.

The coalition accused the state of using harassment and intimidation to silence rights defenders and called on security agencies to stop targeting them.

"We condemn the unlawful detention of human rights defenders and call on the security agencies to desist from taking an active role in the wider State scheme of harassment, intimidation and attacks on human rights defenders," it observed.

It commended the ODPP for holding off on charges.

"We commend the ODPP for taking the decision not to charge Allans over fictitious charges," the coalition added.

Civil society groups maintain Ademba was only photographing outside the polling station as an independent vlogger and did not interfere with voting. Some of his posts, however, were viewed by police as potentially inciteful, reports indicate.

Before his arrest, Ademba had posted live updates from the by-election on his X account, including a claim that only voters who cast ballots in the 2022 election were being allowed to vote, with newly registered voters turned away.

The Ol Kalou seat fell vacant after the death of former MP David Njuguna Kiaraho.

Democracy for Citizens Party candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru won the by-election with 35,440 votes against United Democratic Alliance candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah's 5,450, with turnout at 57 pc, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).