DCI Explains Why Woman Who Stormed Afya House & Interrupted CS Barasa Was Arrested
Njoki was reportedly arrested for causing a disturbance and was seeking medical services at a hospital in Eastleigh.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has confirmed the arrest of Grace Njoki Mulei, one of the women who stormed Health Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa's press briefing at Afya House on Wednesday, January 15.
In a statement on Thursday, January 23, the DCI revealed that she was taken to Capitol Hill Police Station, formerly Nairobi Area, and will be arraigned in court on Friday, January 24.
Njoki was reportedly arrested for causing a disturbance and was seeking medical services at a hospital in Eastleigh when she was accosted by individuals identifying themselves as DCI officers.
"A suspect has been arrested following reports of a disturbance at the Ministry of Health Boardroom at the Capital Hill Police Station," the DCI stated in part.
A visibly agitated Grace Njoki when she stormed the Ministry of Health offices to lament the lack of operationalization of the Social Health Authority (SHA) on January 15, 2025 (right) and when she was arrested (left). /DCI.PHOTO
"The suspect, Grace Njoki Mulei, was tracked down to Hombe Road, off Juja Road, and successfully apprehended. She has been taken to Capital Hill Police Station, where she will remain in custody until her court appearance scheduled for tomorrow."
The 61-year-old woman’s son George Mulei had earlier sent out an alert claiming his mother was abducted while applying for knee surgery at the Ladnan Hospital.
“During the application, she called me while frantically shouting that individuals identifying themselves as DCI officers had ‘come for her.’ I immediately rushed to Ladnan Hospital, but upon arrival, we were informed that she has already been ‘taken.’ We do not know her current whereabouts,” George stated in his alert to newsrooms.
Speaking in a subsequent interview with Citizen TV, he disclosed that his mother has pressing medical issues that are likely to spiral with the trauma of her unprecedented arrest and subsequent mistreatment by police officers.
“My mum is hypertensive, she’s diabetic and she has a heart condition. So basically, even the trauma this event is having on her right now, I don’t even know her state," he revealed.
Mulei appealed for the authorities to release her mother safely and to be informed of the charges she would be facing "because what normally happens is that she needs to have her day in court."
"But the way they manhandled her, because we have seen footage, and we thank Ladnan Hospital for also helping us because they tried to intervene but these people were really violent,” Mulei added.
The family lawyer Johnston Daniel Junior, on his part, stated that police officers have since forced Njoki to write statements whose contents he is still unaware of under duress.
The advocate noted that Njoki was supposed to be charged with creating a disturbance as well as resisting arrest, adding that she has been denied cash bail and only her husband has been allowed into the police station so far.
He however dismissed the charges saying Njoki’s actions at Afya House were purely those of a concerned citizen visiting public government offices per her rights.
“The son received a phone call from her at around 5 pm from police officers who were here pretending that they were here to have a conversation with her, and then they later proceeded to arrest her. They refused to identify themselves, what charges they were bringing against her, or to wait for her advocate to be on the ground. They have consistently pushed her to write statements whose contents we do not know. We disavow anything that they portend she has stated thus far,” he stated.
“On top of that, this is a lady who was coming here to schedule an operation on her leg tomorrow. She was having a conversation with her doctor today to confirm the same. It is beyond humanity to think that a contingent of 12 to 15 officers (to arrest her) over charges which would not amount to six months. They have not attempted to call her to present herself and she has refused.”
Njoki was among two women who stormed the Ministry of Health offices, bypassing security and making their way into a room inside the Ministry of Health headquarters where the presser was taking place.
The visibly angry women, flanked by patients from the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), demanded answers over uncertainties and bureaucracies they were subjected to over the use of the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Among the patients who stormed the press briefing was a mother to a 3-day-old baby, who had just undergone a caesarian section surgery and could not be processed to leave the hospital.
The hospital later confirmed that there was an issue regarding the SHA system which led to delays in patient care at the medical facility. KNH revealed that the lapse led to a paralysis of medical services for over 48 hours but assured that the system had been rectified.
