Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i now claims the government is resorting to violence and intimidation against Opposition leaders after realising it is headed for defeat in the 2027 General Election.
Speaking to K24, Matiang’i claimed that the State had panicked after losing support across the country and was now deploying crude tactics to silence dissent and weaken the Opposition as the next polls draw closer.
“What they are doing now is to copy what other countries in East Africa are doing; cause violence, intimidate Opposition leaders and push them to the wall,” he said.
Matiang’i was reacting to a chaotic incident in Othaya, Nyeri County, where police lobbed teargas into a church during a Sunday service attended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The incident disrupted worship and sent congregants fleeing in panic.
Reports from the scene indicated that live bullets were also fired as armed men and alleged goons attacked churchgoers, with several vehicles torched during the unrest.
The former Interior CS alleged that the events in Othaya were a reflection of a desperate government grappling with dwindling public support.
“We are adults, we understand what it is happening,” Matiang’i said. “I have been in those offices and I can tell you the government has lost support everywhere.”
He dismissed what he termed as a carefully curated image of popularity portrayed by the government on social media, insisting that the reality on the ground was starkly different.
“They know the truth, forget the pictures they post on social media and all they want people to believe. They are lying to themselves,” he added.
Matiang’i further claimed that even individuals within government and the security sector privately acknowledge the loss of public confidence in the current administration.
“And those working in government are people we know and we talk to. Some even work in the security sector and we talk often and they tell us the truth,” he claimed.
“Because the leadership knows the support is gone, that is why they have resorted to backward ways.”
Matiang’i also took issue with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s directive for police to expedite investigations into the Othaya incident.
Murkomen, in his first public remarks since Gachagua alleged a fresh assassination plot against him, said attacks on individuals, particularly at places of worship, were unacceptable and must be investigated thoroughly.
However, Matiang’i questioned the need for prolonged investigations, arguing that the evidence was already in the public domain.
“But Matiang’i said there was very little to investigate and everything is in black and white,” he said. “I wonder, we are seeking all these pictures on social media of the men with AK-47 rifles, whet investigations are they conducting?”
“What is complex in that investigation? Are they waiting for a whistle to make arrests? Let us wait this week to see if they will make arrests.”
He accused the government of double standards, saying it routinely demands obedience to the law from the Opposition while violating it with impunity.
“We respect the leaders and the government and the law,” Matiang’i said. “You cannot tell the Opposition to respect the law, and you, as the government, you break it all the time.”
Expressing disbelief at the unfolding events, he questioned the moral responsibility of those in leadership positions.
“I have known some of these leaders, and they are decent people. How can they let it happen?” he posed.
by Allan Kisia
