CS Kindiki asks police to act tough on leaders over South Rift tea firms chaos
Cabinet Secretary for the Interior and National Administration Kithure Kindiki joins members of Lokori Mass Choir in a song before addressing residents of Lokori, Turkana East Constituency on security issues in this phoyto taken on Jene 7,2023.
Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki has read the Riot Act to leaders who have incited members of the public to commit acts of violence and destruction of property.
The CS said leaders, implicated in inciting members of the public over the invasion of multinational tea plantations in their respective counties, should face the full wrath of the law.
The CS spoke on Wednesday while addressing residents of Lokori, Turkana East Constituency during a security baraza after touring the Lokori GSU camp where he congratulated and motivated frontline officers in the ongoing Joint National Police Service and Kenya Defence Forces Maliza Uhalifu operation targeting bandits and armed criminals.
Prof Kindiki said the government will not tolerate instances of citizens and leaders taking the law into their own hands by resorting to violence.
He said if there are grievances, there are ways to address them.
"I am asking all political leaders to desist from using members of the public to cause violence, to destroy public property...to political leaders who have been using the youth to cause public violence by giving them alcohol and drugs instead of giving them jobs, your days are numbered," CS Kindiki said.
He said his arrest orders will target political leaders who pose a threat to the peace and stability of the nation, irrespective of their political affiliation.
"This is for all political leaders, those in the President's party and those in opposition. If as a leader you are involved in inciting the public and breaking the law, we will arrest you regardless of your political influence".
The CS said that the elected leaders from Kericho and Bomet who were recently grilled in Nakuru were from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) side, which he said showed that the government would not use political divisions to arrest inciters.
The CS also urged the opposition to heed his warning, saying he would not sit back and watch the country being driven to war.
Recently, several members of the public in Bomet and Kericho were arrested for destroying tea picking machines worth millions of shillings, claiming that they had been rendered jobless since the company started using the machines.
Even after being grilled by detectives in Nakuru County, Governor Mutai reiterated that he would continue to fight for the rights of Kericho residents, but in a friendly manner.
