Wiper leader and Azimio co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka has condemned police for hurling teargas at former Chief Justice Willie Mutunga at the Central Police Station.
Mutunga and several lawyers and human rights activists had visited the police station on Saturday to facilitate the release of 32 protesters who were arrested during Friday's Saba Saba demonstrations.
The ex-CJ had been at the station the previous night accompanied by Senior Counsel John Khaminwa but their attempts to bail out the protesters failed prompting them to return Saturday morning.
Kalonzo termed their dispersal with teargas an unprecedented new low by the Kenya Kwanza government.
"Together with Senior Counsel Dr John Khaminwa, he had accompanied other civil rights activists, to seek the unconditional release of peaceful protesters arrested for exercising their constitutional rights," Kalonzo said in a statement on Twitter.
"This action, indeed Friday's, 30 years after the return of multipartyism was a blatant attempt to reverse the hard-fought gains first enshrined 13 years ago in our 2010 Constitution."
The police action drew condemnation from activists, lawyers, the political class and Kenyans in general.
"The only crime that Willy Mutunga did was he went to demand the immediate release of poor Kenyans who can't afford lawyers, but they have been unlawfully detained after they were arrested yesterday during the peaceful Saba Saba maandamano," Alinur Mohamed said.
"The police now think everyone who asks them to do the right thing is a member of Azimio. Our police officers should ensure no one is using them to beat their mothers, fathers and grandparents. They don't know what tomorrow has in store for them."
Activists Boniface Mwangi who was in the company of Mutunga termed as "petty and vindictive" the police action to deny the protesters bond.
"Every suspect has the right to a police bond. Why is the “Christian” regime denying the detained peaceful protesters police bail? Mwangi asked in a tweet.
He denied reports by a section of the media that they had gone to the police station to protest adding that even if that were the case, "our Constitution allows the right to protest, anywhere and everywhere".
"Imagine brutalising, and teargassing peaceful citizens at a police station! Congratulations William Ruto, Rigathi Gachagua and National Police Service for showing your true colours. Watoto wa Moi ni Moi. Our Constitution is supreme and resistance to dictatorship and impunity is our life duty!" he said.
Lawyer Gitobu Imanyara also condemned the police saying the officers' actions were uncalled for since entering a police station to facilitate the release of suspects is not a criminal offence.
"The crime is by the police officers who teargassed and violently chased them out of the police compound, a public place. We will never allow a return to a police state we were before 2010," he said in a statement on Twitter.