In all probability, police officers from any one of several elite squads that exist to execute clandestine security operations visited former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s Karen residence on Wednesday night to either arrest him or search his house for whatever they think he is keeping there that can incriminate him.
They did not complete the task because forewarned, Dr Matiang’i set up a public ambush that rendered the operation untenable.
In this instance, the visitors that prefer night calls thought it wiser to stand down the operation and avoid the drama of being caught in graphic media reports and images of what can only be read as misusing law enforcement agencies to politically harass a former senior Cabinet minister.
By reaching out to Opposition leader Raila Odinga, and inviting his lawyers to form the welcoming party for the police offers, Dr Matiang’i easily won round one of what is likely to be an extended interaction that now has drawn in the courts.
Plausible deniability
Police and security agents are notorious for deploying the option of plausible deniability in situations that could embarrass them.
I certainly did not expect the Inspector-General of Police, the Directorate of Criminal Intelligence or the anti-corruption agency boss to raise their hands and admit that their men and women were in Karen that night to salute their former boss. Not after they had been briefed that Mr Odinga and some excited lawyers were in the reception committee.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kindiki Kithure could not contradict his senior commanders by admitting knowledge of the aborted operation.
They are all safe in the knowledge that in the intended operation and in any subsequent investigation, they hold all the aces. There will be no investigation in the matter because, for now, the key political point has been made — which is that President William Ruto intends to get his own back against his former boss and his then foot soldiers.
There are obvious indicators of this intent despite his public declarations that his ambition and desire is to lead one nation united by the desire to positively transform the lives of long-suffering Kenyans.
The fact that he keeps referencing the hard and uncomfortable times he claims he was subjected to by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga betrays a simmering anger well camouflaged by his ready smile and a firm handshake.
And there is more.
Kenyatta’s appointees
The ruthless, almost gleeful, gusto with which he is jettisoning board appointees of former President Kenyatta is a stark message that he really does not care about the legally defined tenure of such appointments.
He probably has taken legal advice on this but even if he has not, he knows that such cases can stay unresolved in court for lengthy periods.
The decision to trim the security detail of the former President is another hint that times have changed and the new Sheriff can and intends to make life uncomfortable for his predecessor and his friends.
That is why Mr Odinga’s security is also whittled down, and his party has become a target for rustler-like raids.
The call on Dr Matiang’i is just the latest salvo in what will be a continuing saga. Former Cabinet secretary Eugene Wamalwa (whose security he says is also withdrawn) may have clothed his words in mirth as he expressed fear that he may be next.
The fact is that even if he is not next he should be in the queue, which will also have a few more notables from President Kenyatta’s last Cabinet.
Shabby treatment
Kenyans are divided over the legitimacy of President Ruto’s actions but they should not be. He has never hidden his anger against the shabby treatment he says he got from his former boss and his close allies. To him, Dr Matiang’i epitomises all that was wrong in that set-up.
It is true that in the execution of his tasks, he did occasionally have some choice words against his then Deputy President. Such is his nature that Dr Matiang’i’s enthusiasm to serve and his loyalty to his boss did perhaps blind him to the immutable law of nature — nothing lasts forever.
But should he be victimised for it? Should police be used to intimidate, harass and embarrass him? Certainly not. The President must resist the temptation to take the low road and play in the gutter. If the former minister has broken the law, he should be processed with the decorum due to every Kenyan.
The unintended consequence of such high-handedness is that it puts Dr Matiang’i and others that may be targeted smack in the centre of public attention, front page and all, this time as victims. It will not be lost on many observers that Kenya’s political opposition is undergoing trauma and it could certainly benefit from an injection of fresh voices and resources. BY DAILY NATION