This archive report was first published on 12 June 2020.
On June 9, 2020, activist Mutemi Kiama was arrested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for allegedly changing the title of a book on President Uhuru Kenyatta's speeches.
According to the DCI, Kiama had changed the title of 'Uhuru Kenyatta: Legacy of Democracy and Development' to 'Uhuru Kenyatta My Life in Crime' and published extracts on social media.
The book, authored by Prof Peter Kagwanja, is a collection of selected speeches by President Kenyatta during his first term of office.
Kiama was picked up by the SSU detectives from his house on Tuesday night and locked up at the Capitol Hill police station.
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) refused to commission the DCI's application for a custodial order, citing that the ongoing investigations would not precipitate criminal charges against Kiama.
Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa of Kibera Law Courts subsequently freed Kiama on Sh50,000 bond and ordered him to appear before the DCI's Special Service Unit's Nairobi regional offices as and when required during investigations.
The DCI had claimed that Kiama's actions were causing anguish to individuals and had cost them their character, but the DPP disagreed, stating that the investigations would not lead to criminal charges.
