Principal Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Security Karanja Kibicho at Approved Ground School in Othaya,Nyeri ,on May 6,2016. [File, Standard]
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho yesterday fought off claims that he had a hand in the omission of some names in a list of VIPs to be accorded special traffic clearance on roads.
Inspector General (IG) of Police Hillary Mutyambai had on Wednesday night released a list that excluded the CJ, Attorney General (AG) and Senate Majority Leader.
The omission of the Chief Justice sparked an online protest with many commentators saying they suspected the Interior PS was behind it.
Yesterday, the IG released another list which included the CJ, AG and the Senate Majority Leader.
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Also included in the revised list is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and principal secretaries of defence, finance and foreign affairs.
The IG said the exclusion of these offices in the initial list was a mistake that has since been corrected.
Yesterday Kibicho dismissed the omission as a non-issue. The PS protested that his critics were blaming him for things that he had no idea about.
“I saw the list just like you and I don’t know why people drop my name in everything,” Kibicho said.
The PS said it was only the IG who could explain why the names were initially omitted.
Insiders said before the initial list which excluded the CJ was released, there were consultations between the Office of the President and the IG’s office.
“They both knew the names were not there. The new decision (to include the CJ) was made after calls were made and many Kenyans protested,” said an insider.
Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen termed the omission of the CJ’s office as “a mess.”
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko described the directive as “political.”
