David Ndii. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
The arrest of renowned economist and socio-political commentator David Ndii a few days took dominated news headlines for some time.
And that was not at all surprising given the standing of Dr. Ndii.
Authorities said that his arrest was made because of remarks he made on a television program that were deemed to be inciteful.
For many, the arrest was political and was intended to intimidate the opposition into submission as it came in the wake of a political stand-off between the government and the opposition.
David Ndii was airing his views consistent with the freedom of expression that the constitution allows.
What's suspicious about the arrest is that it came weeks after the said ''inciteful'' remarks were made.
If what he said was criminal, why was he not arrested immediately?
That is the question.
The danger of arresting opinion leaders is that it strikes fear in the hearts of citizens and restricts freedom of speech as many will avoid airing their opinions openly for fear of arrest.
One of the pillars of democracy is the freedom of speech and when you restrict that, you end up damaging democracy.
The government should not fall into the trap of restricting freedom of speech like other authoritarian countries.