Two youth leaders allied to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua have been released on cash bail after a Kahawa court declined to extend their detention in a case filed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Wanjiku Thiga and Peter Kinyanjui, also known as Kawanjiru, were each granted cash bail of Sh50,000 or bond terms of Sh200,000 with a surety of the same amount.

The two are officials of the DCP Youth group, which is associated with the Democracy for Citizens Party. They had been arraigned on Wednesday to face terror-related charges.

Magistrate Gideon Kiage ruled that there were no justifiable grounds to continue holding the accused, despite the seriousness of the charges brought against them.

“In the present case, the accused persons have been charged with an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. That mere fact, however, in the absence of any other ground in support thereto, does not and cannot suffice to upset the presumption of innocence as guaranteed under the Constitution,” said Magistrate Kiage.

He noted that the severity of the allegations alone did not qualify as sufficient reason to deny them their right to bail.

“To hold otherwise would be tantamount to affirming that all that is needed for the denial of bail is for the prosecution to present serious-sounding charges with stiff penalties,” he stated.

The court found that the investigating team had between 13 and 22 days—depending on the exact dates of arrest—to verify the identities of the suspects and carry out background checks. Magistrate Kiage concluded that there was no compelling reason to keep the two in custody any longer.

He also rejected the prosecution's reliance on anonymous statements, saying the court could not rely on information from unnamed individuals whose reliability had not been tested.

“This is an invitation which the court must politely turn down,” he ruled.

Earlier, both Thiga and Kinyanjui had been released on bond by the Kiambu and Ruiru courts after being charged in relation to unlawful assembly and rioting during the June 25 protests. However, they were quickly rearrested and brought before the Kahawa Law Courts under anti-terrorism laws.

Their legal representatives described the arrests and re-arraignment as harassment and an abuse of legal procedures.

In the same ruling, the court also granted bond to three foreign nationals who had been arrested during the same protests. Each was ordered to post a bond of Sh200,000 and provide a Kenyan surety. They were not given the alternative of paying cash bail.