An activist who is accused of storming Parliament during the 2024 Gen Z protests and went viral for the phrase “Mr Speaker Sir” has been charged with unlawful access and damage to property worth Sh41 million.
Ezekiel Kyama Nzyoki was brought before a Nairobi court on Monday and charged with unlawfully accessing Parliament Buildings and malicious damage of property, including facilities at the mausoleum of founding President Jomo Kenyatta.
Principal magistrate Caroline Nyaguthii was told that Kyama allegedly gained unauthorised entry into Parliament precincts on June 25, 2024 after damaging a section of the perimeter wall surrounding the complex.
According to State counsel, after accessing the restricted area, he vandalised several flag posts around the mausoleum of late President Kenyatta and caused extensive damage to other government property within the premises.
Among the items allegedly destroyed were kitchenware, a television screen and assorted technology equipment. Prosecutors told the court that the total value of the damaged property exceeds Sh41 million.
Kyama denied all charges when he appeared before the court.
Through his lawyers Babu Owino and Gordon Ogado, he sought lenient bond terms, arguing that he is a fourth-year student at Kenyatta University and would be unable to meet stringent bail conditions.
Owino told the court that he was present in Parliament on the day Gen Z protesters stormed the precincts, but did not see Kyama among those who entered the buildings.
The defence further urged the court to consider his status as a student and grant him reasonable bond terms pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Kyama’s latest arraignment comes days after he was among more than 200 protesters charged with obstruction-related offences during the second anniversary of Gen Z protests. He was subsequently released after former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko paid cash bail for a number of the accused persons.
Kyama was released on a personal bond of Sh100,000 plus two contact persons.
