Justin Kinyua Mwangi/HANDOUTThe Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has confirmed the arrest of Kirinyaga-based blogger Justin Kinyua Mwangi, hours after opposition leaders raised the alarm over his alleged abduction by hooded gunmen.
The DCI said its detectives from headquarters arrested Mwangi on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, in Wanguru Town, Mwea, Kirinyaga County.
According to the investigative agency, the blogger was arrested over social media content that allegedly amounted to hate speech and ethnic contempt.
“Detectives from DCI Headquarters have arrested Justin Kinyua Mwangi for publishing social media content amounting to hate speech and ethnic contempt,” the agency said in a statement.
Mwangi, who describes himself on Facebook as a political storyteller and digital strategist, administers the Facebook account Justin Kinyua. He is also associated with the DCP, which is led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The DCI said Mwangi faces charges under Sections 13 and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
Section 13 of the Act deals with hate speech, while Section 62 provides for the offence of ethnic contempt.
The agency said Mwangi would be arraigned in court on Wednesday, August 5.
The arrest came after Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina raised the alarm, claiming that Kinyua had been abducted by hooded gunmen.
Maina said she was pursuing the matter alongside Kirinyaga Senator Kamau Murango and MP David Mathenge after receiving information that Kinyua had been picked up and driven to an unknown destination.
She further claimed that his mobile phones had been switched off after the alleged abduction.
“Justin Kinyua has been abducted by hooded gunmen and is being driven to an unknown destination as we speak! The era of political intimidation is here with us, but we shall not relent!” Maina wrote on X.
She said the opposition leaders would continue standing up for constitutional rights, including freedom of expression and political affiliation.
“We shall stand by the constitution and the young people of this great nation, whose right to free speech and political affiliation is protected by the constitution,” she said.
Murango also condemned what he described as the alleged abduction, linking the incident to what he termed growing political persecution of young people holding divergent political views.
“Political persecution of young people must stop!” Murango said.
He claimed that Kinyua's reported disappearance raised concerns over the alleged misuse of police and government machinery to intimidate young people expressing opposing political views.
The DCI's statement, however, provided a different account of events, confirming that Kinyua was in police custody following an arrest by detectives.
The agency said the arrest was linked to his online activities and not an unexplained disappearance.
