Lawyers representing former Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i have moved to court seeking an anticipatory bail against any possible arrest of the former CS.
According to Matiang’i, it is his contention that he is under imminent police arrest and is rightfully concerned that his constitutional rights are being violated.
“The powers of arrest by the respondents and the Kenya Police are being abused and misused to harass, intimidate and oppress the applicant and his former cabinet colleagues and the former president; and to achieve extraneous political purposes unconnected with upholding the Law,” he argues.
Matiang’i contends that unless the orders are granted, he, his family members, and those close to him will continue to live in a saddening state of fear and anxiety because they have no idea when or how the respondents will pounce on them.
The former interior CS claims that he received credible information from Kenya Police officers that they are under express orders to arbitrarily capture and arrest him in order to arraign him in court for ulterior political motives.
Matiang’i, through his lawyers, now requests that the court issue a conservatory order prohibiting the respondents, their servants, agents, junior officers, and/or anyone from arresting, charging, harassing, or otherwise interfering with him.
Similarly, he wants the court to stop the police and the government from harassing him without conducting investigations and to give him the opportunity to be heard or summoned to any offices to record statement(s) if necessary.
On February 9, 2023, he claims that his home was raided, surrounded, and cordoned off by police officers seeking to arrest him.
However, top police bosses have distanced themselves from the raid each saying they did not send in their officers.
Matiang’i claims that the police officers only left after the media and his lawyers arrived.
“Worth noting is the fact that the applicant has never been summoned to appear before any police station or investigative agency and no arrest warrants had been issued against him, a clear breach of due process, “reads court papers.
According to the former CS, the arrest was timed to prevent him from attending the funeral and burial service of his late cabinet colleague, Prof. George Magoha.
“The Applicant is aware that his woes got worse when he gave a speech at the home of the late Prof Magoha where he shared the lessons on public service that he had learnt from the deceased. His security was withdrawn the next day and the impending arrest is part of the scheme to harass and silence me forever.”
