Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara summoned by DCI over alleged incitement

Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara during the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) meeting with Health NGOs Network (HENNET) [Kanyiri Wahito/Standard] Naivasha Member of Parliament Jayne Kihara has been summoned to appear before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives on Monday. According to the summons seen by The Standard the legislator is accused of inciteful comments at an unnamed event. The summons is by Deputy Director of the Investigations Bureau, George Lenny Kisaka, who is an Assistant Inspector General of Police. He says that the bureau is investigating "an alleged offence of undermining the authority of a public officer contrary to Section 132 of the Penal Code, CAP 63, Laws of Kenya; whereby a complaint on dissemination of inciteful or disruptive content, features." When reached for comment, the MP attributed the summons to her support for Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. "I think it is connected to my speech during the burial of Boniface Kariuki in Murang'a County on Friday," she said. Kariuki was shot at point-blank by a police officer deployed in Nairobi's CBD to manage demonstrators on June 17, an incident that was caught on camera. Kenyans had taken to the streets seeking to compel the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Kenya Police, Eliud Lagat, to resign over the brutal murder of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang at the Central Police Station. After 13 days at Kenyatta National Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Kariuki died on June 30 and was buried at his Murang'a County home on July 11. The officer linked to his death, Constable Klinzy Barasa, has already been arraigned and is awaiting a mental health assessment before he can plead to murder charges. Kihara also believes the summons are connected to the recent wave of anti-government demonstrations that rocked the country in the months of June and July. "They think I know something, so they want to question me on the July 7 demonstrations." She said that on July 7, she was not in her constituency and was instead in Nairobi and did not expect her supporters to take to the streets due to the brutality that police had exhibited in previous demos. She denied any role in the demos or sponsoring goons who took advantage to loot and destroy property. Traders in Naivasha town were counting losses running into millions after the June 25 demos. Last year, during the Gen Z demonstrations, Kihara's office was torched after she voted 'Yes' to the controversial Finance Bill 2024. Her summons by DCI comes after a June 26 speech by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who said that he had directed DCI boss Mohamed Amin to open a probe into the demos. At the same time, Murkomen blamed unnamed politicians who he said had planned to take advantage of the June 25 demos to overthrow the Kenya Kwanza regime. "What unfolded yesterday [June 25] was not a protest. It was terrorism disguised as dissent. There was no peaceful demonstration, it was riots, chaos, and anarchy," he said. Already, the DCI has arrested and charged several allies linked to Gachagua, including Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji, Democracy for Citizens Party youth leader Wanjiku Thiga, and Kiambu leader Peter Kinyanjui alias Kawanjiru. The three, among others, were accused of different offences relating to the demonstrations. Mukunji was freed by Kahawa Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Kipkemoi Koech on a Sh300,000 cash bail. Thiga and Kinyanjui will know their fate on June 16 when their bail application will come up for ruling. This comes amid revelations by several DCI detectives that they have been under pressure to link Gachagua to the demonstrations witnessed around the country. The DCI officers said that so far, from the interviewed suspects, none had evidence linking Gachagua to the demonstrations.

Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara summoned by DCI over alleged incitement

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Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara summoned by DCI over alleged incitement

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