Kibicho Roasts Ruto After Bold Live TV Expose

Interior Principal Secretary, Karanja Kibicho has responded strongly to Deputy President William Ruto's bold attack on a section of government officials, having linked them to incitement ahead of the August 9 general elections.

Speaking during a Citizen TV interview on Thursday, August 4, Kibicho dismissed Ruto's sensationalist claims that there was a plot to cause violence and interfere with the polls, which was hatched in the Nakuru State lodge.

He defended himself by affirming that it was two years ago that he last stepped foot into the county while terming the second-in-command's actions as shameful.

Interior PS, Karanja Kibicho. /FILE

"The last time I set foot in Nakuru was two years ago. It is very shameful for a deputy president to even imagine that we were in Nakuru plotting anything.

"It is shameful for a deputy president to lie in front of cameras on a grave thing like this one," he noted.

The Interior PS added that the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate has been playing reverse psychology and using it to intimidate government officials.

He added that the Ministry has been meeting chiefs since 2017 to discuss matters of security before relaying a summary of their discussions to the media.

"These are masters of reverse psychology, We have been meeting our chiefs since 2017. We meet them in open places for security briefings and at the end of each meeting we always brief the media.

"It is so shameful what William Ruto is alleging, even if it is seeking sympathy from Kenyans, there are better ways to do it than character assassinate people and try to intimidate government officials," he added.

He further questioned why hateful leaflets had emerged days after Ruto held rallies in the region.

"Those statements are as useless as they come. We are mandated to provide security to Kenyans. What motivation would the government have to cause panic among Kenyans? To achieve what? How do you scuttle elections in favour of Raila Odinga by spreading leaflets?

"We cannot be reckless about security in this country by calling press conferences and attempting to cry. We are more serious than this. We are talking about protecting the lives of Kenyans," Kibicho added.

He nonetheless accused the DP of using the media to relay the issues instead of passing them through the right channels.

Kibicho added that the DP has not been calling him, even though he is obliged to pick his calls, given that he is his boss.

Ruto exposed President Uhuru Kenyatta and profiled some police bosses, including regional and three county commissioners, alleging that they were staging night meetings to plan violence.

He named Rift Valley Regional Commissioner, Maalim Mohammed, Trans Nzoia County Commissioner Samson Ojwang, Uasin Gishu's Stephen Kihara and Esustus Mbui of Nakuru as individuals who have been propagating inciteful and hate messages across the country.

DP William Ruto addressing the media on August 4, 2022. /FILE