Sifuna alleges plot to plant weapons in Arati's home

 Edwin Sifuna speaks at Kisii Central Police Station regarding chaos that erupted in Nyakembene, South Mugirango, January 2024. . [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

The ODM party has expressed concern over plans by some senior security officers to allegedly plant weapons in the rural home of Kisii Governor Simba Arati as part of a wider scheme to settle political scores.

The party's secretary general Edwin Sifuna challenged the national government to uphold the constitutional provisions on how to relate with county governments to realise development instead of using security agencies to harass and intimidate governors.

Sifuna said for the last year, the party has keenly been following happenings in Kisii where senior security officials have allegedly been frustrating Arati's efforts to deliver his mandate as governor.

“We have heard an audio clip of a senior security official working in Kisii county explaining to someone how they are going to deal with Governor Simba Arati by invading his rural home and planting some weapons so as to fix him to please their political masters,” he claimed.

The Nairobi Senator called on Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to take disciplinary action against officers hell-bent on causing chaos in the county and blaming it on the governor.

Sifuna challenged the CS to tell Kenyans on whose instructions the senior security officials in Kisii were acting on.

He said that the country was no longer in the dark days where security personnel were used to intimidate political opponents.

The senator warned security personnel who will accept to misused by some politicians that they will eventually carry their cross when the right time comes.

“We have heard that there are plans to withdraw the security detail of Kisii governor so that he can become vulnerable so that some senior security officials with ill motives can invade his home and execute their plan to implicate him in criminal activities,” claimed Sifuna.

Prof Kindiki who held a meeting with senior security and national government officers in Kisii town last month announced measures to end violent criminal activities in the county.

Key among the measures is personnel changes and the deployment of a special team to investigate and bring to book the organisers, financiers and perpetrators of violence.

The CS said some politicians were to blame for the criminal acts and the government will not allow them to continue with illegal activities which have caused insecurity in the region that has enjoyed relative peace in the past.

“Security agencies operating within Kisii county are under instruction to put into action preventive measures to bring to an end cases of violence within and deal decisively with politicians who are out to cause chaos,” he said.

Arati has been embroiled in political supremacy with Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu and National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro for the last year with their supporters engaging in shouting matches and violence.

The governor has accused Machogu of allegedly sponsoring some politicians to derail his development agenda and their differences playing out in public during the funeral service of the late Kisii National Polytechnic Principal Daniel Nyariki in February.

The CS got agitated when youths booed him as he read President William Ruto’s condolence message, saying that he could no longer tolerate the nonsense where some politicians give handouts to locals to jeer leaders during funerals and political events.

He warned college students against receiving Sh500 each to heckle leaders during funerals.

“We have seen a lot of stupidity going on, and we are not going to accept it any more, every leader should perform his role as expected, the governor has been allocated Sh15 billion from the exchequer to perform his role, we are tired of noise being made in the county,” said Machogu.

But Arati accused the CS of being behind the chaos, saying he was not qualified to lecture him on anything since he defeated him during the last elections and should thank the President for rescuing him from political obscurity.

The governor challenged Machogu to another political duel come the 2027 General Election.

Meanwhile, Arati and Osoro supporters have engaged in scuffles in at least two events in South Mugirango constituency.