By Martin Mutua And Cyrus Ombati
A section of parliamentary staff, MPs, and police are being accused of helping Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu to escape arrest.
The MP, who allegedly incited a crowd to violence against the Maasai community in Nairobiâs Kayole Estate, slipped out of Parliament grounds on Tuesday night, and out of a police cordon as it emerged he could face murder charges.
The assistant minister had been holed up in Parliament the whole day, as the law protects MPs against being arrested within the precincts of the National Assembly.
It remains a mystery how the entire police force and the National Security Intelligence
Service (NSIS) could not track down the MP and execute a warrant of arrest against him.
By the time of going to press last evening, Waititu was still at large, more than 48 hours after Internal Security Minister Katoo ole Metito, and Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko ordered his arrest.
Besides a fully-fledged police station led by an OCPD, Parliament has its internal security detail responsible for MPs and headed by the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms.
The House is also frequented by a host of intelligence officers round the clock and it was not possible for Waititu to have left the precincts of Parliament without their knowledge.
Other sources that asked not to be named claimed Waititu left in the company of some MPs on Tuesday evening, even as police pretended to be lying in wait for him.
Officials in Parliament and police said Waititu must have escaped due to collusion between the MP and some officers sent to arrest him.
This is because there is only one gate used at night and police and Parliament security officials inspect all cars getting in and out of the compound. Another set of security officials were in the lobby, where Waititu was seated making phone calls that could be tracked by NSIS.
