At least 299 people who were arrested in a crackdown on supporters of former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga on Sunday at the Kabiru-ini grounds in Nyeri County have been released on a Ksh.10,000 bond each.

The suspects were released shortly after the leader condemned the government for harassing and arresting them.

The suspects sang solidarity songs and chanted freedom slogans as they appearing in a Nyeri open court; one of them pleaded not guilty to the charge as read to them, and the court released all of them.

In defence of the accused, lawyer Ndegwa Njiru told the court they were victims of a political witch-hunt orchestrated by a senior political leader in Mount Kenya region.

“We are here to say that you cannot criminalize young Kikuyu men. All those people arrested were never arrested from Kibiru-ini, they were arrested on the streets of Nyeri and we therefore want to ask the court to tell us, what is wrong with being a Kikuyu young man?” He posed.

The suspects were arrested in Nyeri town on Sunday following Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu's ban on a planned rally that was to be held and attended by a section of Mt. Kenya leaders on the basis that it was unlawful.

Former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga condemned the government for what he termed as harassing and arresting innocent Kikuyu youth, adding that the meeting had been called off.

“When did the jobless, hopeless and disgruntled hustlers become Mungiki? Kweli asante ya punda ni mateke. Let the regime of the day stop, cease and desist from criminalising innocent Kikuyu youth, and embark on addressing the underlying problem of the skyrocketing cost of living,” he said.

The case was set for mention on January 16 and January 18, 2024.

In Murang’a, police arrested 23 people who they claimed were found in possession of knives and other items, believed to have been used to conduct rituals at Mukurwe-wa Nyagathanga shrine.