Haki Kenya Organisation Executive Director Michael Nato (C) briefs the press on the sudden removal of a blogger from witness protection/KNA
As Kenya prepares to mark 15 years since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, a Mombasa-based civil society group is raising alarm over the sudden removal of a blogger who was allegedly sexually abused from the State Witness Protection Programme.
Michael Nato, Executive Director of Haki Kenya, has written to the Witness Protection Agency (WPA) demanding an explanation for the withdrawal, citing fears for the blogger’s safety as the case involves senior Mombasa County officials.
Four suspects have been charged at the Shanzu Law Courts with conspiracy to commit a felony and abduction with intent to confine.
The blogger, Bruce John, alleges he was sexually assaulted on September 12, 2024, after posting a social media video that angered a top county official and his supporters.
Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has recorded a statement in the case, while DCI officers arrested Lands, Urban Planning, and Housing CEC Mohamed Hussein, who was later released.
Nato said they stood with the blogger since he was allegedly sexually assaulted, and they are perturbed by his recent revelations that he has been removed from witness protection, exposing him to harm.
“Why should someone be removed from a programme in unclear circumstances?” he said, condemning his removal.
The blogger, he noted, faces threats ahead of the hearing of his case at the Shanzu Law Courts on September 25, where he is scheduled to testify.
They are calling upon the Cabinet Secretary for the Interior and National Administration to also intervene to know the root cause of his removal, as the case has implicated senior County Government of Mombasa officials.
“We want to know if someone is put under protection; his freedoms are limited, as he has been expressing himself on social media platforms and also giving his political views, as guaranteed by the constitution article 38 on political choices,” he said, adding that if there is any monkey business, John can explain himself.
The State Agency, he noted, has been allocated funds for the financial year 2025/2026, and they expect high standards of professionalism.
“We will put it under scrutiny to know how many people it serves. We don’t want to know the identities because of confidentiality issues, but how many people to see if there is value for money,” he said
He added, “When we took him, we expected he would be protected until the culmination of the case, but as things started, we didn’t have faith that someone would be safe as a witness.”
John Walele, a Human Rights Activist, said they are determined to ensure the blogger gets justice, as he had narrated to him the ordeal, but has embarked on a probe to ascertain the truth.
“We want to know what led to his return,” stated Walele, in a bid to defeat justice. He further alleged that the suspects are hell-bent on persuading the victim to withdraw the case.
The activists also want the judiciary to conduct the case in public, as it is a public interest case, as some police officers who were handling the case have been transferred.
Speaking separately, the blogger Bruce John says he is suffering after he was removed from the protection and is under medication and on the precipice of depression.
He accused politicians of using and dumping him for their political expediency.
