Veteran Kenyan journalist Macharia Gaitho has been released from police custody just hours after being violently abducted. The National Police Service (NPS) clarified that his arrest on Wednesday morning was a case of mistaken identity.
Gaitho was apprehended at the Karen Police Station in Nairobi and forced into a car by men who identified themselves as officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) but refused to show identification, according to the journalist’s daughter, Anita Gaitho.
In a post on X, the National Police Service explained that they had intended to arrest one Francis Gaitho.
“This morning, we arrested journalist Macharia Gaitho in a case of mistaken identity, meant for the arrest of Francis Gaitho who is our subject of investigation,” the post read.
“We reiterate that as a Service, we do not target journalists in any way, and today’s incident is highly regrettable.”