Thread by @alaminkimathi

.@OkiyaOmtatah goes to court for a mention of his case like he has done every month since 2011. The magistrate is late for an hour, prosecution agrees with him that he attends another PIL case he has at the environmental tribunal, a superior court. Magistrate orders his arrest.

Magistrate won't hear Omtatah waited for an hour but had to go to the higher court and requested his case be mentioned after he was done with the tribunal as happens in court always. He promptly issues a warrant of arrest and goes away without hearing any other case. #FreeOmtatah

.@OkiyaOmtatah returns from the tribunal to find policemen waiting for him with the warrant of arrest and he's promptly whisked away to Kilimani police station. He refuses to enter the cells without being booked in the OB and vows to fight on till it's done. #FreeOmtatah

In the meantime he's kept in the dirty report office as the police await further instructions. Knowing how filthy the toilets and the cells are he decides he'll scrub them clean and leave the place better than he found it in characteristic Omtatah spirit.
#FreeOmtatah

Meanwhile @katibainstitute ED lawyer @waikwawanyoike is leading activists at the police station and the courts demanding justice for @OkiyaOmtatah. This. Morning's mention was over a protest he led in 2011 against then education minister Sam Ongeri for loss of over Sh 4.5billion.

The case against him and 32 others has never been heard since 2011 when they were charged after being illegally held at Industrial Area Prison for 10days. They have had to endure punishment by trial having to travel to and from the courts for mentions every month.
#FreeOmtatah.

In 2014 @OkiyaOmtatah had successfully applied for certified copies of the proceedings to enable him file a constitutional reference in the High Court but the magistrate's order was never acted upon.The court however refuses to enforce its orders against its own defiant staff.

He has however attended every mention without fail and was in fact in court ten minutes before the appointed 9am. He only left, with a note to the court,to attend his case against the state in the Labour and Employment Court (not environmental tribunal)a superior court to return

It is the practice in every court that when one has two matters at the same time he attends the one in the superior court but notifies the lower court. This Omtatah did as he has done several times in his numerous appearances in his public interest litigation cases.
#FreeOmtatah

The prosecutor actually requested the magistrate to set @OkiyaOmtatah case aside, showing him the course list where the other case was listed but the magistrate would not hear any of that. He hastily issued a warrant of arrest, closed the file and off he went.
#FreeOmtatah

Omtatah has filed an application in the High Court to be released "on his own recognizance or through affordable bail." The application was filed last evening by his lawyer @waikwawanyoike but wasn't heard due to time. It will be heard this morning by Justice Kimaru.
#FreeOmtatah