Sunday Nation journalist Walter Menya has this evening been released after two days in police custody.
The writer, who has found himself at the centre of a storm touching on bribery, was set free by Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku on a free bond at around 4pm even as it emerged that police were planning to charge the writer with “demanding property with menace.”
State lawyer Daniel Karuri informed the court that Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko had directed that the journalist be freed on a free bond without being charged.
The journalist is, however, expected back in court on Wednesday next week when the matter will come up for mention. A statement from Police Headquarters said the Sunday Nation journalist allegedly received Ksh35,000 through M-PESA and was arrèsted while receiving an additional Ksh20,000.
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It is understood that police investigations are now centred on the journalist’s mobile money transactions and the authenticity of a voice recording between him and the man who is said to have “fixed” him, which has been posted on social media.
However, police are free to summon the writer between now and next week when parties return to court.
Police are still holding the journalist’s phone, laptop and flash discs that they seized on Sunday when they searched his house in Embakasi.
Mr Menya was arrésted and locked up on Sunday on claims of “soliciting a bribe to write a damaging story”. His accuser who identified himself as Kennedy Kiprotich Koros remains faceless. He introduced himself as a news source only to turn against the writer with police.
According to police, the writer’s woes stem from an article he wrote on Sunday Nation touching on Friends of Jubilee Foundation.
