• IG Mutyambai said should Echesa fail to surrender by 1 pm Friday he will be treated “as an armed and dangerous criminal.”
• Echesa slapped the IEBC officer accusing him of chasing one of their agents out of the polling station during voting.
Image: MERCY MUMO
Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been arrested after he was captured on video slapping an electoral official on Thursday.
Police had been looking for Echesa for questioning over election violence experienced in Matungu Constituency in Kakamega County.
This was after he failed to surrender to police as directed by Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai.
Sources said he surrendered at about 3 pm in the company of his lawyer at Matungu police station.
He was escorted to Kakamega police station under heavy security.
Mutyambai had issued an ultimatum to Echesa to surrender to police Friday by 1 pm.
The police boss said should Echesa fail to surrender by 1 pm Friday he will be treated “as an armed and dangerous criminal.”
Echesa went into hiding following the assault incident that occurred at the Bulonga polling station, with police launching a search for him.
“The IG has directed Hon. Rashid Echesa who is on the run after assaulting an election official to surrender to the nearest Police Station by 1.00 pm this afternoon otherwise he will be treated as an armed and dangerous criminal,” read the statement issued by Spokesman Charles Owino.
Echesa slapped the IEBC officer accusing him of chasing one of their agents out of the polling station during voting.
This came as Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said all firearm licenses issued to leaders involved in the chaos witnessed in Matungu, Kabuchai, Nakuru and other places will be suspended.
He said the government will further seek to invoke Chapter Six of the Constitution and ensure the leaders don’t run for any elective posts.
“We will deal with this menace once and for all. We can't have leaders paying bonds of Sh10,000 and wait for the (case) mention after around 10 months. By the time they are back to court, they have slapped 10 other people and constantly keep paying bonds," Matiang'i said on Friday.
He spoke at the Kempinski Hotel in Nairobi during the launch of the National Land Commission's 2021/2026 strategic plan.
Chaos was witnessed during the by-elections in the places that seemed to overwhelm police.
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala's bodyguard was arrested after a shooting during the mini poll.
Police said they are investigating the incident and will arrest more suspects over the issue.
Senator Samson Cherargei, MPs Didmus Baraza, Nelson Koech and Wilson Kogo were arrested over the chaos in Kabuchai in Bungoma County.
They were charged with preparing to commit a felony.
Mutyambai told the political leaders to surrender their weapons to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations immediately for ballistic examination.