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Interior CS Fred Matiangi/FILE

COUNTDOWN TO 2022

Matiangi urges national administration officials to be vigilant ahead of 2022 polls

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 9 – Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has called on the security administrators to be on the lookout for early violence warning signals as the country approaches the election season.

Matiangi was speaking on Wednesday when he launched a Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) on substance and illicit alcoholic drinks in a forum which brought together Regional and County commissioners and officials from National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) including the agency’s Chief Executive Officer Victor Okioma.

The Cabinet Secretary urged the administrators to remain vigilant and pay particular attention to “early warnings” in their areas of jurisdiction to ensure peace is upheld in the country.

“I want to ask our administrators to please pay attention to early warning signals and signs across the country as we head to elections in order to be able to prevent any form of violence as we enter into the election season,” said Matiangi.

While drawing an example from the ongoing Laikipia conflict, Matiangi said had local administrators been keen, they would have picked up some of the security challenges in the area and dealt with them before the situation escalated.

The Interior CS asked the administrators to do as much as they can to seek alternative ways of resolving issues in their jurisdictions to avoid escalating them.

He urged them to engage in conversations with local community leaders church officials and elders and youth leaders to build good working relationships with the locals which he said will play a key role in the quest for peace in the country.

The CS added that in the event any political challenges arise it key that conflict resolution structures exist to resolve them.

“I want to ask you to be a little more cautious while handling different issues try as much as possible and build inclusive conflict resolution mechanisms in your areas of jurisdiction,” the CS said.

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Matiangi said the interior ministry was committed to go through the electioneering season in a consultative manner and engage in peaceful conversations with the citizens.

“I would like to plead with you that lets reduce to the barest minimum any incidents of force, pushing people and so on,” he said.

The CS called on the administrators to remain objective and focus on the task of keeping the country stable and secure.

“We can’t have a stable country without the work you guys do. You are carrying the stability of this nation on your shoulders. Let us remain objective focus at the task at hand and ensure Wananchi gets the services that they need and ensure that the country moves forward,” he said.

Matiangi’s meeting with regional commissioners comes at a time of rising political temperatures ahead of the August 9, 2022 general elections.

Already, incidences of violence have been witnessed in some parts of the country with 10 deaths reported in the ongoing conflict in Laikipia where two politicians were arrested on Wednesday.

Incidences of intolerance by rival camps have also been reported, the recent being an attempt by a section of youths in Kieni, Nyeri County, to stop a scheduled tour of Deputy President William Ruto.

Ruto termed the incidents as ‘barbaric’ saying that he will not be cowed by such incidents in his campaigns. “I will not be intimidated by small things because I am determined to liberate the hustlers.”

MPs loyal Ruto accused Kieni MP Kanini Keega of  hiring goons to shout the DP down, allegations he denied.

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On Tuesday, September 7, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) vowed to take decisive action against politicians fueling chaos in regions they consider their political bedrocks ostensibly to lock out competitors.

In a statement sent to newsrooms on Tuesday, NCIC Chairperson Samuel Kobia said the recent trend is unacceptable and cannot continue unchallenged.

“We must remember that it is this trend that will make things better or worse in the run up to the 2022 elections. If we make a trend for tolerance that we can be sure that our country will be safe and peaceful, but we continue with abuses and intolerance, then we are headed in the wrong direction,” Kobia said.

He pointed out that all politicians have a right to spread their ideas in all the parts of the country without fear of intimidation or attack from opponents.

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