The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved terrorism-related charges against 37 individuals in connection with coordinated attacks that took place on June 25, 2025, in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, and Matuu, Machakos County.
The suspects were arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts on Tuesday, where the prosecution detailed charges including committing terrorist acts, arson, and malicious damage to property. According to prosecutors, 25 of the accused are linked to a series of attacks in Kikuyu that occurred between noon and 11 p.m. on the same day.
The attacks reportedly targeted key government installations, leading to widespread destruction. Among the damaged facilities were the Kikuyu Law Courts, Kikuyu subcounty offices, the Office of the Registrar of Persons, the Kikuyu Deputy County Commissioner’s Office, and the Kikuyu police station. Other affected offices included those of the Chief, the subcounty education and accountant’s offices, the Registrar of Lands, and the Kikuyu Probation office.
Ten additional suspects were charged over a separate incident in Matuu, where police vehicles were destroyed and officers assaulted at the Matuu police station.
The DPP emphasized that the charges were independently reviewed and that all suspects were lawfully brought before the court and served with the relevant charge sheets. Prosecutors denied any political motivation behind the charges, stating, “The charges are not targeted at demonstrators, but at individuals who allegedly chose to engage in acts of terrorism and destruction.”
Among those arraigned were Peter Kinyanjui Wanjiru, alias Kawanjiru, and Serah Wanjiku Thiga. Their lawyers argued they were kidnapped after being granted bail in a separate case at Ruiru Law Courts. The DPP countered that they had not yet been charged and that custodial orders had been properly sought.
The defence team has filed an application seeking to block the terrorism charges, challenging the legal basis of the prosecutions.
Chief Magistrate Gideon Kiaga ordered that all 37 suspects remain in custody until July 10, 2025, when the court will deliver a ruling on the application.
