Lawyer says Omondi group’s protest was ‘heroic’

Comedian Eric Omondi and 16 other content creators have been released by court on a cash bail of Sh10,000 or bond of Sh20,000 after denying a charge of taking part in an unlawful assembly outside Parliament over the high cost of living.

Appearing before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina yesterday, they denied the charge of taking part in an unlawful assembly on Parliament Road, Nairobi, on  Tuesday afternoon.

The charge sheet state:  “On February 21, 2023, at 1300 hours along Parliament Road in Nairobi County, all the accused persons took part in unlawful assembly.”

Among those charged alongside Omondi are Peter Mukundi, Elisha Ochieng, Felix Ikutwa, Frank Omukavi, Alpha Juma and Cyrus Isindu.

They had asked to be granted a reasonable cash bail of not more than Sh5,000 or personal bond.

Their lawyers, Danstan Omari and Kimani Wachira, told court that the accused were content creators and the intention of the alleged unlawful meeting was to push the government to tame the rising cost of living.

“All these people are international content creators. They went to Parliament Buildings to agitate for measures that would deal with the current high cost of living. I urge the court to take judicial notice that six million Kenyans are on the verge of hunger, as per the government’s reports,” lawyer Omari stated.

“The young men represented 55 million Kenyans to tell Parliament to tame the high cost of living. The State has criminalised these heroes fighting for the whole country. The people cannot afford food on their table,”  he added.

The case will be mentioned on March 6, 2023, for a pre-trial conference.

Omondi and his co-accused had brought business on Parliament Road to a standstill, demanding an audience with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula to air their grievances.

Carrying placards written: ‘High cost of living’, ‘high cost of electricity and cooking oil,’ they blamed the National Assembly for the current dire situation.