Governor Kivutha Kibwana: I gave warning on Makueni assembly fire attack

Makueni County Governor Kivutha Kibwana (Photo : FILE)

Governor Kivutha Kibwana claims he had warned of an imminent attack before a fire razed part of the assembly.

The governor said he had shared intelligence with Speaker Stephen Ngelu that the impending attack aimed at disabling or stealing computers from the chambers.

However, Mr. Ngelu dismissed the claims as utter lies.
Addressing reporters in his office after inspecting the charred chambers, Prof Kibwana said the speaker did not respond to his alert on the planned attack.

The governor called on the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to set up a special task force to probe the fire.

Prof Kibwana said there was need for an independent investigation as he had no confidence in the local investigators. He accused the local detectives of conducting investigations when computers were stolen from his offices last year.

 ENHANCE SECURITY

The governor claimed another group is planning to destroy important information at the Finance department and called for enhanced security.

But in a quick rejoinder, Ngelu denied claims that Kibwana had shared such information. The speaker said the last time the two communicated was on December 25,2015 when they sent each other Christmas greetings. “If the governor has any information related to the fire tragedy, then he should walk to the nearest police station and share the same with the police,” said Ngelu. He called on IG Boinnet to order Kibwana to record a statement over the matter.

The governor had earlier toured the assembly accompanied by the Speaker and County Commissioner Pauline Dola but Ngelu was conspicuously absent at the governor’s press briefing.

On Monday, property worth millions of shillings was destroyed in a fire that reduced a section of the Makueni assembly to ashes. The fire gutted the county assembly chambers, the offices of the speaker and the clerk, a boardroom and adjacent offices.

The speaker said investigations into the incident had begun.