Naivasha MP Jayne Wanjiku Kihara, a key ally of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, has been summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over alleged incitement.
Ms Kihara is expected to appear before detectives at DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road in Nairobi on Monday for questioning.
The lawmaker is the latest ally of Mr Gachagua to be summoned by the DCI. Several of his associates have recently been interrogated, arrested or charged in court over alleged involvement in the Saba Saba and June 25 youth-led protests.
According to the summons signed by Deputy Director of the Investigations Bureau George Lenny Kisaka who also serves as an Assistant Inspector General of Police, the legislator is accused of making inciteful comments at an unspecified event.
“The bureau is investigating an “alleged offence of undermining the authority of a public officer, contrary to Section 132 of the Penal Code, CAP 63, Laws of Kenya. A complaint on dissemination of inciteful or disruptive content has been received and I have reason to believe that you are connected to the offence or have information that can assist in investigations,” the summons reads in part.
“I hereby compel you to appear at the DCI Investigations Bureau at the DCI headquarters, located along Kiambu Road, on Monday at 10:30 am,” the document adds.
The Investigations Bureau is a specialised unit within the DCI that handles in-depth probes into serious crimes, economic and financial crimes, cybercrime, land fraud, revenue and tax evasion, and transnational organised crime, among others.
The bureau’s mandate includes gathering information, analysing evidence and prosecuting cases referred to it by the DCI director.
“The days of intimidating leaders using the criminal justice system are long gone. Summoning me to DCI headquarters will not change Kenyans' resolve. This is not about Jayne Kihara, it’s about our country, Kenya. These political persecutions will not stop us from calling out this oppressive regime,” she said.
“Nowadays, being a supporter of Rigathi Gachagua is a crime. I think it is connected to my speech during the burial of slain hawker Boniface Kariuki in Murang’a County on Friday,” she added.
Mr Kariuki was shot at point-blank range by a police officer deployed to control demonstrators in Nairobi’s Central Business District on June 17.
The incident, caught on camera, caused national outrage. He later died on June 30 while receiving treatment in the ICU at Kenyatta National Hospital and was buried in Murang’a on July 11.
Ms Kihara believes the summons may also be tied to the recent anti-government protests that rocked the country in June and July.
“It is public knowledge that I had no role in the protests or in sponsoring goons who took advantage to loot and destroy property,” she asserted.
Last week, detectives also questioned two close associates of Gachagua, former NHIF CEO Geoffrey Mwangi and DCP official Assumpta Wangui, over their alleged roles in the June 25 protests. They were summoned to the DCI regional headquarters in Nakuru, where they recorded statements.
Mr Mwangi who has declared interest in contesting the Nakuru gubernatorial seat in 2027, dismissed the accusations as politically motivated.
“I have declared my candidature for Nakuru governor in 2027, and perhaps that’s why some of my rivals want to tarnish my name,” he said.
In Nyeri, Karatina MCA Watson Weru and other Gachagua allies were also summoned and grilled by detectives. Mr Weru was accused of distributing whistles and vuvuzelas to protesters, which he dismissed as baseless and political.
The youth-led protests largely organised by Gen Z across multiple counties resulted in at least 38 deaths and dozens of injuries. Authorities are now zeroing in on individuals suspected of mobilising resources for the unrest.
The scrutiny of Mr Gachagua’s allies follows his own public denial of involvement in the demonstrations. In a recent interview with NTV, he dismissed claims linking him to the protests.
The government’s pursuit of perceived protest facilitators intensified last week when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) pressed terrorism charges against two of Gachagua’s allies, Peter Kinyanjui and Serah Wanjiku Thiga for allegedly torching the Kikuyu Law Courts.
The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) and the DPP allege the two not only damaged the courts but also other government offices nearby during the June 25 protests.
