At least 38 individuals who were detained on Sunday at the Jesus Ministry Church in Roysambu have been freed.
They were grilled at the Kasarani police station before being unconditionally released on Sunday night, according to the authorities.
A number of attorneys had shown up at the station to request their release pending any possible investigation.
Police officials consented to their release.
This came amid skirmishes between police and some locals over a contribution of Sh20 million handed to Bishop Edward Mwai of the Jesus Winner Ministry church in Nairobi’s Roysambu by President William Ruto.
Police used tear gas canisters as protesters set fire to bonfires and blocked some local roads.
Businesses were shuttered in the vicinity while running skirmishes persisted for the most part of Sunday afternoon.
Church services were stopped short after police threw tear gas canisters outside in response to the group that declared they wanted to occupy it as a message to the church officials.
Mwai asserted that anonymous individuals he knows organized “thugs” to protest at the house of prayer on Sunday. He said this when scores of police officers were stationed at the church to guard against a group that intended to stage a protest there.
Following President William Ruto’s visit to the church on March 2, during which he pledged a Sh20 million donation and an additional Sh100 million for an upcoming event, the protest was organized online under the hashtag #OccupyJesusWinner.
Speaking to churchgoers, Mwai claimed to know the people organizing the upcoming protest and charged them with “using our children” without providing their names.
Following the donation commitment, he declared to his supporters, “I forgive all those who have insulted me and called me names and leave it to God may he forgive them,” expressing his forgiveness of those who had wronged him.
While some police officers stood outside in anti-riot gear, others took seats inside the church.
Those entering the building were frisked by ushers.
Mwai, the founder of the Jesus Winner Ministry Church, was hosted by Ruto on Thursday at State House in Nairobi.
Ruto commended Mwai’s church for organizing a recruitment campaign in support of a government program that links youth to overseas job prospects.
