County boss says life in danger over his fight against graft

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua has accused Deputy President William Ruto, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen of making threats against his life.

On Monday morning, Dr Mutua went to the Kilimani Police Station's Directorate of Criminal Investigations offices to record a statement over the matter, saying that his life is in danger.

Speaking to journalists after recording the statement, Dr Mutua claimed that the threats from the three senior Jubilee Party leaders were made on two separate occasions at State House, Nairobi.

In a letter addressed to the Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, Dr Mutua stated that the threats were issued “with unspecified consequences because of my statements on national issues”.

CONSCIOUS DELIBERATIONS

The Machakos governor said his move to go public with the threat accusations followed conscious deliberations with his colleagues and lawyers, saying he came forward for the sake of his personal safety.

“I am putting this forth before Kenyans so that, if anything unusual happens to me or members of my family or my associates, the three can be held accountable. I have reported this matter to Kilimani Police Station under OB No. 50/16/12/2019,” he said.

“I am asking Kenyans to pray for me because we have bad people here in our country. Due to Kenya’s history [of] political assassinations, political violence and intolerance, the seriousness of these threats cannot be gainsaid,” the governor added.

THREAT INCIDENTS

In the letter to the Police IG, Dr Mutua states that the first incident took place on November 25, 2019 at State House where he had gone to witness President Uhuru Kenyatta receive the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Report.

“While waiting for the function to start, National and Senate Majority Leaders Aden Duale and Kipchumba Murkomen made threats to me. Duale asked me what was wrong with me, saying that I have been attacking them and (he) will deal with me while Murkomen said they will have to teach me a lesson,” the county boss said.

Dr Mutua further said that Senator Murkomen told him that “when you touch the DP, you touch us”.

The Governor further claimed that Mr Duale, who is the Garissa Township MP, also made threats to members of his community living in Garissa, saying “What will you do? Do you not know that there are 50,000 Kambas in Garissa and I can deal with them?”

In the second incident, which occurred on December 11, 2019, Governor Mutua said that the Deputy President approached him and, while “holding his hand tightly”, told him “Wewe jamaa umekuwa ukinichapa sana (you have been hitting me hard)” after which the DP added “Wewe sasa lazima nikugonge. Nitakugonga (I must now crush you. I will crush you).”

PETRIFIED

“I was petrified, not only by the life threatening words uttered by Dr Ruto, but also by the intensity of his eyes and angry tone of his voice. I have been quite disturbed by these threats and I do believe that Dr Ruto is serious and capable of carrying out his threat on my life and general welfare,” Governor Mutua said.

Dr Mutua also said that he is not in a position to ignore or negotiate these threats with those he has accused.

“How can you negotiate a threat when someone says they will finish you? Will you negotiate with them on how they will not finish you too much or finish you slightly? This is something that I have pondered upon; I just did not wake up and come to the station. I can see the seriousness of these threats so I cannot take it lightly,” he said.

PRESIDENCY

The governor said he suspects that his interest in advancing his political career by aiming for the presidency come 2022 as well as his fight against corruption and advocating people’s rights are among the reasons that have led to the threats he is facing.

“Just because I have shown an interest in the presidency in 2022, in addition to fighting corruption by calling for lifestyle audits, I have been receiving these threats. Truth be told, I have not even mentioned Deputy President Ruto and when I did, it was only by asking what more he will offer Kenyans come 2022. So why me? Why am I a threat to them?” Dr Mutua asked.

The Machakos governor further called for the beefing up of his security, urging the police to investigate the matter.

“I strongly believe that these threats constitute a criminal offence. Anyone using threats to infringe on my rights should be punished in accordance with the law. However, I will remain unshaken as I am not a coward,” he added.