Protect me, former Interior minister Fred Matiang'i tells court
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i.
What you need to know:
- He has sued six national government institutions including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Inspector-General of National Police Service, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has moved to court, seeking to be granted anticipatory bail after police allegedly raided his house on Wednesday night.
In an application filed at the High Court, Dr Matiang'i says he fears police may execute an arbitrary arrest against him.
He wants court to issue an order barring police "from arbitrarily arresting, charging, harassing or interfering with him without conducting investigations and according him an opportunity to be heard to wit issuing him with summons for him to appear at any offices to record statement(s) if need be".
He wants the order given pending hearing and determination of the case.
"He has received credible information from officers of the Kenya police that they are under express instructions to arbitrarily capture and arrest him with a view of arraigning him in court for ulterior political motives," his lawyer Danstan Omari says in the application.
In addition, Dr Matiang'i is seeking orders barring police from arresting, charging, harassing or interfering with him and his participation in burial arrangements of the late Prof George Magoha, the former Cabinet secretary for Education.
He has sued six national government institutions including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Inspector-General of the National Police Service, Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Also sued is the Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the National Police Service Commission.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and the Law Society of Kenya are listed as interested parties.
The application is pending hearing.
Outside the court, Dr Matiang'i's lawyers said they got a distress call from the former CS at night, saying police elite officers had surrounded his home.
"He had prior knowledge of an impending arrest. On arrival we found the police had left," said the lawyers.
"We have information that it could be about the Ruaraka land matter or allocation of another land. We also have information it could be about Huduma Namba. But he was not the accounting officer of the programme," said lawyer Sam Nyaberi.
Mr Omari disputed a statement by Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome that the persons who allegedly attempted to raid the CS's home are not police officers.
"Why did the National Police Service fail to deploy officers to find out about the raid if it indeed the raiders were not police officers?" asked Mr Omari.
"There seems to be a choreographed attack on former Cabinet secretaries. We will seek instructions to seek anticipatory bail for all of them," said Mr Omari.
