For young Kenyans who never witnessed the madness and terrorism of the Nyayo era when Dictator Moi worked with the likes of William Ruto as one of his thugs who was running the YK-92 gangsters, you are in luck. You are going to witness live how thugs run a government.
They go to church in the morning and kill people they don’t like at night and detain and jail hundreds of people just for fun. That stuff really entertains them because it gives them an illusion that they are wiping out their enemies.
Dr. Fred Matiang’i is a very well-known Kenyan who was a major bureaucrat in the Uhuru government. He is known across the world and when the Ruto government goes into a full-fledged night attack at his home and surrounds it with carloads of police operatives ready to do the job, nobody is safe. That is a home invasion by the Ruto police and usually, dictators reach that stage after being in power for a while.
It took Moi four years in office to start full-time terrorism on those whom he claimed opposed his government. It has taken Ruto 100 days in office to try to become a full-fledged dictator with a gun on the head of those Kenyans whom he does not like.
Moi started by arresting and detaining Kenyan politicians and activists like Raila Odinga and later Koigi Wamwere, Kenneth Matiba, George Anyona, and university lecturers like Prof. Ngotho wa Kariuki, Mukaru Ngang’a, Willy Mitunga, and many others. Then Moi came after the student leaders like Oduor Ong’wen, Mwandawiro Mgangha, and hundreds of others.
Ruto is starting his terrorism against Kenyans right off the bat and these are not even people who pose any political threat to him, but rather, Kenyans whom he hates for his own personal reasons. That is how nasty William Ruto is and that is just his starting point. Nobody has any clue where this Ruto state thuggery will head to next. He is testing the political waters to see how far he can go.
The other thing Ruto is already doing which Moi was an expert in is having tribal delegations of politicians visit State House to swear allegiance to him personally. Those are his puppies now and with them singing and dancing for him, he feels he can mess up the country as he wishes.
What a person like Ruto does not know is that even with a dictatorship you need a plan. When the Ruto police mob invaded Matiangi’s home they were blocked and within a short time, Kenyans got wind of the treachery going on and headed there to stop the police from attacking him.
Then Ruto tried to be clever by half and his government released a statement to the effect that it was not only the police surrounding the home but EACC detectives were there too. The idea was to imply that Matiang’i was being arrested for corruption. Not soo fast. The EACC has now released a statement stating they were never at the former CS’s home, which means, the whole thing was an operation by the Ruto police.
To the shock of Ruto and his police, Matiang’i reached out for help from Kenyans and in no time, there were literally hundreds of people at the former Interior minister’s home with the now stupidly looking police mob helpless. They knew they are not touching that guy because Kenyans will not tolerate it. Opposition leader Raila Odinga joined the team of lawyers and other Kenyans who were on site.
Raila was pretty clear about what Kenyans are witnessing when he gave a statement at Matiang’i’s home.
“They say the more things change the more they remain the same. We are now witnessing what this country has been through before. The times of late-night arrests and detention without any charges. There is no reason why police should be coming to somebody’s home at this hour of the night when people are asleep.
“If Matiang’i has committed a crime warranting his arrest that should be made public and known to him and then he can present himself for interrogation,” said Odinga.
He added: “This idea of arresting senior citizens at this hour of the night is something that is completely repugnant to civilization. This is completely unacceptable.”
“I have said it and I will repeat it again…We are dealing with an illegal regime. A regime that usurped power from the people of Kenya. The people of Kenya will not take this lying down… This will not be accepted. We will stand with Matiang’i and anybody else to ensure the law of this country is respected.”
Addressing the media outside the home of the former CS, lawyer Danstan Omari said Maitang’i’s life was in danger, adding that they were not aware of the motive behind the intended raid on the home.
“I can confirm that the life of Matiang’i is at risk. We don’t know the intention of wanting to invade Matiang’i’s home at this time of the night. We don’t know what offense he has committed… Our client is ready to be summoned, and record a statement if they have anything to charge him with. My client is holed up as if he is a fugitive in his own country,” said Omari.
He added that a battery of lawyers would protect Matiang’i all through the night to ensure the security officers follow the law.
“My client is holed up as if he is a fugitive in his own country. We have put a cordon in his house of more than 200 lawyers protecting our client to see the light. We will not leave here until morning so that if he is arrested we follow the law,” said Omari.
