Ex-CS Rashid Echesa Set Free As Court Blocks His Arrest

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been released on a Ksh2 million personal bond after he was arrested for his alleged role in an extortion ring targeting Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa.

Echesa was released on Wednesday, April 3 as the High Court sitting in Milimani issued orders restraining law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining him.

Justice Diana Kavedza noted that the court must protect Echesa’s rights, after he claimed to have been held incommunicado for 48 hours by the police when he was arrested on March 27.

"At this juncture, it is not the duty of the court to interrogate whether the applicant's allegations are true, but rather, to protect his rights," said the Judge.

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary, Rashid Echesa. /FILE

Justice Kavedza however directed Echesa's advocate, Danstan Omari to ensure that the former CS presents himself before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on April 22, 2024, for interrogation and statements recording.

"He shall cooperate with the investigators during the entire period of investigators," she added.

"And or the avoidance of doubt, the respondents are at liberty to investigate or charge him for any criminal conduct. However they shall not arrest or detain him because of the personal bond or until further order of this court," she added.

The Judge said once investigations are complete, the investigating officer should notify Echesa to appear before the relevant court for plea taking.

Once he is arraigned, the judge said her orders will automatically lapse and the trial court will be at liberty to set new terms of bail.

Omari earlier filed the application seeking anticipatory bail and also sought orders restraining the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Inspector General of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (respondents) from arresting and charging him without conducting investigations and allowing him to be heard.

He took issue with how he was arrested saying it was not procedural, believing the arrest is politically motivated.

The court heard that his arrest came while obeying lawful summons from the county criminal investigations officers (CCIO) in the Nairobi Area.

Omari also revealed that Echesa is currently admitted to the hospital to keep his medical condition in check.

The lawyer previously revealed that Echesa's medical condition had deteriorated having undergone surgery at the same hospital a week before his arrest and was due for a review on the day he was arrested.

However, the police refused his request for a review and detained him, leading to complications with his wound.

On Thursday, March 28, Echesa was picked up by police officers attached to Muthaiga Police Station from his house in the afternoon and taken to the DCI Headquarters in Kiambu Road for questioning. The officers claimed that he had been avoiding a police trail.

The arrest came barely a week after a man was charged before a Kibera court with extorting Ksh240 million from Governor Barasa.