Tusker midfielder Osborne Monday released from custody

The family of Tusker midfielder Osborne Monday breathed a heavy sigh of relief Thursday evening when the player was released by the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU).

Monday had been arrested from his house at around 2am on Wednesday, but the manner in which police carried out the operation raised fears.

A family member said that Monday was picked up by about 10 men who were driving two Probox vehicles.

Through the hashtag #WhereIsMonday, and #FindOsborneMonday, Kenyans flooded the social media to raise awareness, demanding information about his whereabouts. The pressure forced police to reveal that the player was being held at the Nairobi Area Police Station, but there was a lot of confusion as the officers at the station denied this.

It later emerged that Monday was being shuffled across different police stations to “evade the media”, and he was eventually taken to the ATPU for questioning over terrorism-related activities. It took the intervention of Football Kenya Federation boss Sam Nyamweya, Kenya Footballers’ Welfare Association (KEFWA) chairman Innocent Mutiso, and other Kefwa officials for the police to release Monday.

“It was a case of mistaken identity. A friend of his had been using his phone to make calls to Somalia. The calls were tracked to him and that is why he was arrested. The police have however pressed no charges. He is shaken over the incident but he is about to go home,” Mutiso told Daily Nation Sport Thursday evening.

Police at the ATPU were however economical with details. “We do not know anything about that person. The boss has been here and he has said that he will call you (journalists) when he has the information,” an officer told reporters.
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