Rose Njeri reveals how arrest made her deliberate active citizen
Software developer Rose Njeri Tunguru has recounted her experience in police custody, saying it made her more deliberate as an active citizen.
She was arrested on May 30, 2025, with police citing her website’s role in a digital campaign that flagged controversial tax proposals in the Finance Bill 2025 and allowed citizens to directly email lawmakers in protest.
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Speaking at a local TV station on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Njeri says she is now more keen on the economic issues affecting the country.
“Before, I was an active citizen, but now it’s like I am more deliberate. I am more keen, especially on the economic aspect of things, because while I was in custody, I kept asking myself, ‘What is it that the government does not want the public to know?’” she posed.
Recalling her experience in custody, she revealed that detention worsened the anaemic condition she has and is now managing with medication.
“The experience was not nice because it was my first time in police custody. I have an anaemic condition that I was managing with diet, but now I am on medication. The experience exacerbated the anaemic condition,” she said.
Njeri charged
The activist was charged in a Nairobi court on June 3, 2025, with unauthorised interference with a computer system.
According to the charge sheet presented at the Milimani Law Courts, Njeri is accused of creating and hosting a website that allegedly automatically generated and sent mass emails to the official address of the National Assembly’s Finance Committee on May 19, 2025.
The prosecution claimed this interfered with the normal functioning of government systems.
The charge is based on Section 16 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act No. 5 of 2018, which criminalises unauthorised interference with computer systems.
She was held in custody for four days, with her whereabouts unknown until June 3, 2025, when she was moved from Pangani Police Station.
The prosecution presented a list of witnesses, including digital and cybercrime experts, as well as investigating and arresting officers.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed that investigations were led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Serious Crimes Unit.
Njeri’s case sparked national attention, with civil society groups and legal experts calling it a crackdown on dissent and digital activism.
