The recent disheartening Matungu killings drew the attention of President Uhuru Kenyatta after it emerged that the Kakamega county security officials were being overwhelmed.
Uhuru immediately dispatched the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to assess the situation and take immediate action. The CS confirmed this when he addressed the residents. Matiang’i vowed that no one would be spared in the spreading killings which lately claimed the life of a seven-year-old boy; even the big names in government.
The following day, a number of local politicians were arrested and locked up in police cells. Again, this matter would be politicised. This could not have happened if the security forces zeroed in on the members of the gang and little known people from the area. But as it turned out, the arrests of Senator Cleophas Malala and former Sports CS Rashid Echesa amounted to touching a live wire.
Apart from the leaders in their respective political camps turning up in a show of solidarity at various police stations where they were being held, chants of Malala’s supporters who gathered in Kisumu would tell it all. “Malala has nothing to do with the killings in Matungu. He is being targeted for political reasons. We are demanding his immediate release”. The investigations had not been completed. So, how do they know he was innocent? The youth should stop taking peanut bribes, handouts and supporting the leaders blindly.
The political leadership is about our lives. If we choose bad leaders, we shall bear the burden for another five years. Malala said he will sue CS Matiang’i and the DCI. I don’t expect security forces to succumb to these cheap threats that easily.
Political Analyst and Blogger
