Raila Odinga blocked from entering DCI headquarters, drives away

Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya leader Raila Odinga at the gate of the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road in Nairobi on March 7, 2023. [David Muthoka, Standard]

Raila Odinga was on Tuesday afternoon denied entry into the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road, where former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i was being grilled.

Detectives lined up at the gate to cordon off the area, preventing Odinga and his entourage from accessing the place.

Odinga and his team, who had arrived in three vehicles, drove off at 3:10pm.

Odinga had earlier met Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya senators at the Office of the Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo at the Senate in Nairobi.

At around 2:45pm, he left for DCI headquarters.

Matiang'i had arrived at the DCI headquarters for interrogation in the morning.

He is under probe by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following the reported police raid on his Karen home in Nairobi on February 9, 2023.

The DCI suspect that Matiang'i could have faked the said-raid.

The former minister, who arrived at the DCI headquarters at 8:30am on Tuesday, previously denied the allegations.

He was to appear before the DCI last week, but his lawyer said Matiang'i had travelled to the United Kingdom to attend to family matters.

Matiang'i served as a minister in three different portfolios, including Education and Interior dockets, between 2013 and 2022 under former president Uhuru Kenyatta's administration.

The current administration, led by President William Ruto, accused Matiang'i of targeting politicians allied to the Head of State in the run-up to the August 9, 2022 General Election.
Some of Kenyatta's lieutenants are claiming that the Ruto administration is out to revenge on the former president's close allies.