Law enforcement agencies should protect PM

By Eliud Owalo

For months now, the public has witnessed defamatory campaigns by questionable characters with the aim of denting the image of the Prime Minister and his office.

Such provocative campaigns are carried out with the full knowledge and apparent approval of key security agencies mandated to enforce the law with a view to ensuring peace and order prevails.

First, the Office of the Prime Minister was the subject of demonstrations by hired goons whose actions are closely connected with, and follow from propaganda campaigns spread by individuals or groups hired by Raila Odinga’s political rivals. The behavior of the police whenever such pickets are organised is quite telling.

The police appear to encourage and enjoy the orchestrated demos with a view to ensuring maximum negative publicity.

One wonders whether the police, like the goons, are also on hire by desperate politicians bent on tarnishing the name of the Prime Minister.

Second, some characters, who previously had a brief stint at the office of the Prime Minister before being dismissed, have been running around claiming they possess damaging dossier or information connecting the Prime Minister to post-election violence and other malpractices committed in Kenya. 

Yes, if at all such characters are sincere in their claims, one would expect them to follow the laid down procedure of handing over such information to law enforcement agencies.

However, with the apparent support of the police, that seem to be working under instructions from some quarters and that has turned a blind eye to the fact that all these questionable characters are in fact breaking the law with impunity, the provocative defamation campaigns appear to be enjoying  “official backing”.

For purposes of illustrating the unfolding phenomena, three cases come handy: The first one involves Miguna Miguna. Sometimes back, Miguna was assigned some duties by the Prime Minister’s office, which assignment he failed to discharge with diligence and decorum.

He has now been assigned by political competition the dirty task of crafting a pack of lies into a book for purposes of inflicting maximum damage on the person of the Prime Minister and the image of his office. 

It must be emphasised, though, that the contents of Miguna’s propaganda book are intended to annoy, scandalise and provoke the Prime Minister, his associates as well as his supporters.

Miguna did allege at the launch of the book in July that he had information relating to post-election violence, which ‘can take every leader in Kenya to the ICC at The Hague’.

The alleged promotion of his book is laden with hate speech, which the National Cohesion and Integration Commission seems not to bother about.

Whenever he moves around promoting his propaganda and hate-laden dossier, the police provide him with escort and protection. 

The public expected the police to arrest Miguna for several reasons including; withholding information on post-election violence spreading propaganda and propagating hate-speech and causing public disorder. 

The Kenya Police appears incapable of reining in him and only seems to be operating on the basis of a ‘Police Act’ not known to the public.

The second character in the on-going hate-speech and defamation campaign is Tony Gachoka.  He, too, had a brief stint at the PM’s office. Having been shown the door like Miguna, he now claims he has information relating to the ICC cases, which information in his estimation is damaging to the Prime Minister.

He has even insisted on meeting the International Criminal Court prosecutor at The hague over his claims.

But it should be remembered that investigation into post-election violence commenced soon after the formation of the Grand Coalition Government; that is more than four years ago. Such investigation were carried out by several bodies including the police, the Waki Commission, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, local and International NGOs and the ICC among others. At no time did Gachoka volunteer information.

It is now several years after the inquiries were concluded, suspects bearing greatest responsibility identified, pre-trials conducted and concluded and final trial dates set, that Gachoka now claims to be in possession of crucial information.

Does Tony Gachoka think the world is full of thoughtless human beings incapable of seeing through his thinly veiled lies? 

The writer is the National Secretary General of Friends of Raila lobby