Daring Kinoti presses on with fresh inquiry into post-poll chaos
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) spent the better part of yesterday collecting statements from victims of Post Election Violence (PEV), a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed his misgivings over a fresh probe into the skirmishes.
Sources within the DCI said the detectives drawn from the homicide, land fraud and gender departments had on Wednesday held a meeting with the Inspector General (IG) of Police Hillary Mutyambai and the DCI, George Kinoti.
The Wednesday meeting, held at the IG’s office at Jogoo House discussed the progress in the investigations into fresh threats of violence in the PEV hotspots of Kiambaa in Uasin Gishu county and Molo and Kuresoi areas in Nakuru county.
Political tension
Yesterday, sources within the team who sought anonymity because of the uproar that has greeted the fresh investigations, said they will continue investigating fresh threats against members of the public.
The investigations, are premised on intelligence briefs that the country was experiencing growing political tension that was creating division and pitting sections of politicians and their supporters against perceived opponents.
However, efforts to get the IG or Kinoti to comment on the investigations were futile.
Kinoti had on Tuesday “clarified” that though they will not revive old and concluded PEV cases, those involving persons who were affected but are still facing threats or displaced from their places will be investigated.
“We will not revive the old cases but any emerging threats will be probed,” a senior official said.
But speaking during the launch of the exercise to collect one million signatures to pass the Building Bridges initiative (BBI) report, President Uhuru Kenyatta warned against reviving the 2007/08 PEV cases insisting that the country had healed.
The President maintained that the political stability in the country was paramount, in what appeared as an indirect attack on Kinoti’s announcement, that they had launched a fresh probe on some of the cases. The top security organ has warned that such threats, if left unchecked, may plunge the country into chaos.
Earlier, on October 7 this year, the government came up with a raft of strict measures to regulate political meetings following reports that the country was experiencing growing political tension.
The directive followed a meeting by the security top organ; the National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC), that was prompted by the growing political tension that culminated into the deadly Murang’a confrontation, that left two people dead during the Deputy President William Ruto’s visit.
The Head of Public Service and chairperson of NSAC Joseph Kinyua who in October warned that the situation was increasingly polarising the country along ethno-political lines, and therefore undermining national cohesion, peace and security.
As a result, he directed the relevant security organs to enforce these directives without fear or favour to the offenders, regardless of their economic standing, ethnicity, religion, political association and status.
On Monday, Kinoti disclosed that they received the reports on September 15, and that a total of 118 cases were recorded that day.
Out of context
Kinoti’s remarks kicked up a controversy, prompting him to issue a clarification on Tuesday that they would only dwell on the cases that were not finalised.
“If, in the course of investigations we find that a particular case was determined by the courts, we do not re-open such a case,” he said.
He said it was an acknowledgement of concerns raised by Kenyans.
“I therefore wish to caution members of the public against being misled by those taking my statements out of the context alluding that the DCI is revisiting PEV cases,” he added.
