Raila goes for Matiang’i’s jugular in first outburst since Uhuru handshake
Opposition leader Raila Odinga has slammed Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i over his attacks on the judiciary on Tuesday.
In a terse statement, Mr Odinga accused the CS of using words that “should not be on the lips of a State officer” to attack particular judges whose recent decisions he disagreed with and their alleged unholy alliances.
Mr Odinga, in his first open tirade against the Jubilee administration after his famous handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 9, 2018, accused Dr Matiang’i of frustrating their reconciliation and unity efforts.
“It is unethical and irresponsible for a Cabinet Secretary to publicly denigrate another arm of government and to refer to judges as “evil.” It is irresponsible to castigate one’s predecessors in office particularly when they are dead and not there to defend themselves,” said Mr Odinga in the statement.
The opposition chief has also accused the Interior CS of using Parliament to attack a separate arm of government and perpetrate impunity instead of dealing with accusations of violation of NRM self-styled general Miguna Miguna’s rights.
“If Dr Matiang’i has evidence against the judges he is attacking, the responsible thing to do is to register his complaint and present his evidence to the Judicial Service Commission.
“If the CS feels that his predecessors in office did not carry out their work in a way that is satisfactory, he is the Cabinet Secretary now. He should correct what he believes is a mistake and change the processes of the Ministry so that those mistakes do not compromise the State,” continued Mr Odinga.
He warned state officers to be wary of their actions and utterances during this period that may frustrate reconciliation efforts in the country, especially coming after an elongated and tension-filled electoral season of 2017.
While responding to queries by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on Tuesday, Dr Matiang’i accused some judges of colluding with civil society groups to embarrass the government.
Dr Matiang’i and his Permanent Secretaries Karanja Kibicho and Gordon Kihalangwa were responding to questions by Parliamentarians on opposition activist Miguna Miguna’s second dramatic deportation.
The session was aired live on TV.