Kenyans have criticised the government over the kind of charges levelled against anti-Finance Bill 2025 activist Rose Njeri. Kenyans Slam ODPP after Charging Rose Njeri With Creating Programme That Sends Bulk Emails to MPs On Tuesday, June 3, Njeri was arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts, where authorities charged her with creating a program that sent mass emails to a parliamentary address. What are charges against Rose Njeri? According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, Njeri’s action was in violation of Section 16 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, No. 5 of 2018. According to the official charge sheet seen by TUKO.co.ke, the alleged offence occurred on May 19, 2025, at an unspecified location within Kenya at around 8.01 pm.
“Njeri knowingly created a programme hosted at https://civic-email.vercel.app/ that automatically generated and sent mass emails to Financecommiteena@parliament.go.ke, which is the official system of the finance committee, thereby interfering with the normal functioning of the systems,” the sheet approved by ODPP reads. However, Kenyans have not been impressed by the charges against Njeri, with some highlighting the typos on the charge sheet. Many wondered why creating a platform to generate public views on the Finance Bill 2025 was a crime. Larry Madowo: “The Kenyan government is constantly bragging about youth digital skills while also punishing the same youth for said digital skills.” Mutie Mule: “Then they should also charge email clients like Gmail since the program doesn’t necessarily send emails; it is just facilitating sending of emails based on user input.”
@localboyNY.” “Very embarrassing” Eng Kevin Kiumbe: “🤣🤣🤣What a joke! How does sending emails to a publicly accessible email address a crime???. The old don’t know what is coming!” @DrizzlerOuko “Where is the crime bit?? Like someone finds a way Kenyans can air their views and she becomes arrested instead of being praised?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How???” Rose Njeri after being arraigned on Tuesday, June 3. Photo: Peter Mulati. Source: Original What did Gachagua say about Rose Njeri’s arrest? Earlier, former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua condemned the arrest of the young software developer, warning that it reflects a wider crackdown on youth dissent. Before her arrest, Njeri had developed an online platform that allowed citizens to express their objections to the Finance Bill 2025. Gachagua said the arrest clearly demonstrates how the state is targeting innovation and civic participation, particularly among young people. Instead of recognising her creativity and commitment to civic engagement, the former deputy president argued, the government chose to punish her, sending a chilling warning to Kenya’s youth.
He called for Njeri’s immediate release and urged Kenyans to unite against what he described as “a dangerous trend” of suppressing dissent. What happened before Njeri was arraigned? A host of activists gathered outside Milimani Law Courts and staged protests for hours demanding the release of Njeri. Led by renowned activist Julius Kamau, the protesters chanted anti-government songs and slogans while carrying placards with messages advocating for Njeri’s release. They were later joined by a battery of over 100 lawyers led by former Chief Justice David Maraga, Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-K Party Leader Eugene Wamalwa, and Ndegwa Njiru, among others. The lawyers accused the state of violating Njeri’s rights by arresting and detaining her on fabricated charges. Njiru told the court that the prosecutors had failed to raise any serious charges against Njeri despite detaining her for four days.
He opposed the state’s application to be granted more days to complete investigations. Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo described the charge sheet as fatally defective and asked the court to throw it out and free the web developer. The court will deliver a ruling on the validity of the charge sheet on June 20.
By Amos Khaemba
