- UDA says CS turned a blind eye to the violence because he supports the former PM's presidential bid.
- The party will be writing to Inspector General of police Hilary Mutyambai seeking to know the progress of investigations into the incident.
Image: / MERCY MUMO
UDA has turned the heat on Interior CS Fred Matiang'i, accusing him of inaction following chaos at Deputy President William Ruto's rally in Jacaranda, Nairobi, on Sunday.
The party maintained ODM leader Raila Odinga was behind the violence but Matiang'i had turned a blind eye to the violence because he supports the former PM's presidential bid.
Secretary general Veronica Maina said the CS has been entrusted with maintaining peace and order but has continued to remain silent and “is in no doubt emerging as a cheerleader of such intolerant and unacceptable behaviour”.
"Matiang'i has publicly supported Raila. We are asking him to take off the political hat and save Kenyans from political intolerance. His ministry has remained silent on the matter but has acted very swiftly in other incidences," Maina said.
Matiang’i has openly declared support for the ODM leader, saying he was taking cue from his boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The CS has said he does not need anyone's permission to support Raila's presidential bid and that majority of Kenyans are with the President and the ODM leader.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on Monday, Maina asked the Ministry of Interior to arrest the situation before it gets out of hand.
She said investigations must be concluded speedily and perpetrators of these acts of intolerance brought to book.
Maina said the party will be writing to Inspector General of police Hilary Mutyambai seeking to know the progress of the probe into the incident.
“UDA and Kenyans at large are watching keenly to see whether the minister will be quick to bring to book the instigators of Sunday's violence at Jacaranda Grounds in Nairobi,” she said.
Maina said the incident was yet another well-orchestrated, violent, ugly scene of stone-throwing meted out by hired ODM hooligans.
“A similar incident took place in Kitale where members of Parliament allied to UDA were disrupted by the police from having a peaceful meeting," she said.
"This is not the first time these ugly scenes have occurred. On September 5, 2021, in Kieni, Nyeri county, the DP’s motorcade was stoned. Barely two months later in a more brazen attack, the Deputy President's motorcade was also stoned in Kondele, Kisumu county, on October 10, 2021,” she added.
UDA chairman Johnson Muthama said ODM has left no doubt that it will use violence as part of its August 9 General Election strategy.
“The ODM high command continues to propagate its well-earned reputation of violence with little action from the security apparatus,” he said.
Muthama denied claims by ODM that UDA sponsored the violence to win sympathy.
"It is very clear that ODM orchestrated the violence. We had no reason to do that to our supporters," Muthama said.
Following the chaos, Raila's team accused the DP of sponsoring youth to attend the rally and said violence erupted after a section of them clashed over handouts.
The DP on the other hand accused Raila of having a penchant for hiring youths to cause violence at his meetings.
Ruto said the ODM leader is known for misusing youth by hiring them to cause violence at rallies.
On Monday, Maina further urged the IEBC to rein in on political players who are not committed to peaceful campaigns.
“We take this opportunity to rebuke Odinga and ask him not to hide behind the handshake and state protection to terrorise this country,” she added.
Edited by A.N