The home of former Cabinet Secretary for Interior Fred Matiang’i in Karen in Nairobi, has been surrounded by police
According to his lawyer Danstan Omari who addressed the media last night.at around 10:30pm Wednesday, the former CS was holed up in his home.
“I can confirm to every Kenyan in this country, that the life of Matiang’i is at risk. We don’t know the intention of wanting to invade Matiangi’s home at this time of the night. We don’t know why they want to arrest him and take him to. We don’t know what offense he has committed. Our client is ready to be summoned to go and appear before any police station and record a statement if they have anything to charge him with,” said Omari.
The Kenyaonlinenews.com has established that the officers arrived at the Karen home of the former CS a few minutes before 10 pm and were attempting to force their way in.
A source said that they arrived in five motor vehicles and were demanding to access to his house but were stopped by his security.
“It is then that he reached out to his lawyers who made their way to his home and started arguing with the officers who have remained silent…they are not saying anything as of now,” said the source who spoke to the Kenyaonlinenews.com in confidence.
A police source also said that the officials who were camping outside the home of the former Interior CS were from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
However, EACC boss Twalib Mbarak refuted the claims saying his officers had nothing to do with the raid.
The Kenyaonlinenews.com can reveal the former CS had by Wednesday noon been informed by highly placed sources of his looming arrest.
The former powerful CS who worked closely with former President Uhuru Kenyatta then went ahead and informed his team of lawyers on what was transpiring asking them to be on high alert.
It was not until 10 pm that an elite squad arrived at his Karen home in five vehicles and demanded to gain access into the home of Dr Matiang’I ,who has maintained a low profile ever since President William Ruto took over as Head of State.
Little did the officers know that the former CS who was inside his Karen home had even informed Mr Odinga of what had transpired.
As an argument brewed outside the compound between the officers and Dr Matiang’I’s security team, the team of lawyers arrived, and some went straight into his house where they were allowed to get in.
“This is something that we had already been told was going to happen, but we did not know that they were planning to arrive at his home during the night,” an aide to the former CS who spoke in confidence told the Kenyaonlinenews.com.
The over 20 officers could not make their way into the compound but some of the lawyers led by Mr Dunstan Omari walked in and spoke with Dr Matiang’i.
Omari said lawyers were also at the home of Matiang’i to ‘protect’ him.
“We have put a cordon in his house of more than 200 lawyers protecting our client. We shall not leave here till morning so that when Matiang’i is being arrested we will follow the law,” said Omari.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga who accompanied the lawyers condemned the night action.
“I’ve just received information that police have surrounded the home of former Interior CS Matiang’i and I was shocked to hear that this is happening at this hour. They say that the more things change, the more they remain the same. We are now witnessing what this country has been through before, the times of late-night arrests and detentions of people without any formal charges. This is what actually appears to be coming back to our country.
If Mr Matiang’i has committed a crime, he’s a Kenyan and lives in Kenya. There is time to go and serve him with a notice to appear before a police station. There is no reason why police should be coming to somebody’s private residence at this time of the day when people are asleep. If Matiang’i has committed a crime that warrants his arrest, he can go and present himself at a police station for interrogation and record a statement,” said Raila.
During the night press briefing, more lawyers showed up following reports of the raid. According to another lawyer Sammy Iberi, former CS Matiang’i called him.
“We have been called by our client that he has been threatened, that his life is in danger because of the aspect that police are coming to arrest him in the night. For starters, there is a procedure that is followed when police officers investigate or are having a person of interest to investigate. They summon that person to a police station and do a statement under inquiry where they have to state that they have reason to believe that the person of interest is involved in the commission of a crime which they declare.
At that time, then they ask this person to state what he knows about the case they are investigating. But in this instance, from two o’clock, three o’clock thereabouts, we have been told that police officers are coming. What they are coming to do, is what we don’t know. They have not declared what they want or what interest they have in Dr. Matiang’i,” said Iberi.
“We do not understand why, in the dead of the night, police can arm themselves to come and arrest our client in the dead of the night and disturb his sleep,” said Iberi.
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