Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) has reported that its director and board member, Khelef Khalifa, was arrested at the Sabaki Bridge checkpoint in Malindi the same location where he was allegedly detained under similar circumstances last year.
In a statement shared on its official social media platforms, MUHURI said Khalifa was traveling to Lamu with six other human rights defenders when they were stopped by men wearing balaclavas, described by the group as individuals “pretending to be police.”
The organization condemned the arrest as unlawful and an act of intimidation aimed at silencing activists. “We just got the word. They’ve taken Khelef. Again. They refused to show their IDs to men whose own faces were hidden. Men in balaclavas, pretending to be police,” MUHURI said.
MUHURI highlighted that the High Court has previously ruled that police officers must display visible identification and cannot conceal their faces. “To us, and we are right according to the law, these aren’t officers but masked thugs with a (hidden) badge,” the statement read.
The incident reportedly mirrors a September 2024 detention at the same location, where Khalifa was later released without charges. “Last September, the same stunt, the same bridge. They never charged him then, because they had no case. He sued them for it. And now, here they are, back at it, thinking we’ll just get used to this nonsense,” MUHURI said.
The organization accused security agencies of employing “cheap intimidation tactics” to suppress dissent and called for the immediate release of Khalifa and his colleagues. “This is a wild goose chase meant to waste our time and silence our voices. Release them. Now. All of them,” MUHURI urged, emphasizing the need for authorities to “follow the law” and stop targeting individuals defending human rights.
Khalifa’s 2024 arrest had similarly drawn public concern after he was apprehended by a multi-agency team in Malindi for questioning officers who concealed their identities and failed to display their badges actions prohibited under a High Court directive issued by Justice Bahati Mwamuye.
At that time, MUHURI’s Rapid Response Officer, Francis Auma, described the arrest as “illegal and deeply troubling,” warning that any harm to Khalifa would be “the sole responsibility of the police.”
