We Don't Need Scotland Yard- Ruto To Raila

President William Ruto has shut down fierce criticism from former Prime Minister Raila Odinga following his decision to disband the Special Service Unit (SSU) in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Speaking during the launch of the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice report on Friday, November 4, President Ruto dismissed calls by Raila to invite foreign detectives such as the Scotland Yard to probe unresolved murders of prominent Kenyans including Chris Musando and Jacob Juma.

Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing the 32 boroughs of London in the United Kingdom (UK).

Its name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which also had an entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard.

Scotland Yard in London, United Kingdom. /FILE

Ruto affirmed that Kenya does not need support from international bodies, especially during investigations into the extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country.

"We don't need the advice from Scotland Yard to remove and disband the murderous units in our police force. We didn't need any advice from nowhere, we just need to respect our Constitution and do the right thing.

"Supporting our professional police force will guarantee the lives of every Kenyan and the security of our property and we will get rid of the menace of extra-judicial killings. We certainly don't need the support of institutions built by others, we can build ours. Even those other institutions that we celebrate, be they the Scotland Yard or the FBI, they were built by countries who respect the rule of law and who believe in institutions," he said.

Raila had come to the rescue of former DCI boss George Kinoti by accusing government officials of targeting Kinoti after Ruto's directive on extra-judicial killings raised eyebrows.

He specifically sought the help of elite and unbiased murder investigators from Scotland Yard to investigate the murders of Msando, who was an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ICT manager, among other cases.

While promising that they would support investigations into the killings, Raila noted that they will not allow Kinoti to be targeted in the process.

"As a party, we believe in the sanctity of the lives of all Kenyans. We are opposed to extrajudicial killings because our supporters have been the victims.

"We are however opposed to the current trend of the president who seems to be pursuing a personal vendetta against past officers. Ruto's grudge against Kinoti goes way before the elections," he stated.

Raila was responding to Ruto's order to investigate the disappearance of two Indians who were part of his campaign team, including Mohamed Zaid and Zulfiqar Ahmed, who vanished before the August 9 polls.

Nine officers attached to the disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU) have since been arrested, with Kinoti accused of failing to take action against the unit allegedly accused of being responsible for the extra-judicial killings.