‘I’m Free And Safe,’ Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza Says After Alleged Arrest
Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza was Wednesday afternoon rocked in a standoff with police at Ruiga Village, Imenti Central Constituency.
This is after police showed up at a homestead where she was donating a cow ostensibly under her ‘Okolea’ outreach program that was recently banned by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
According to the neighbours, Kawira confronted the police demanding to know who had sent them to the homestead before she went ahead to get into the police landcruiser.
While the Governor insists she is under arrest, police on the ground maintain that she stage-managed the incident by swiftly getting into the police vehicle to fake an arrest.
The Governor would later take to Facebook sharing images of herself alighting the police vehicle stating that she had been set “free”.
“Finally. Am free. I thank God am safe,” Governor Kawira captioned the images.
Prof. Kindiki on September 22 banned Governor Mwangaza from holding meetings on the ‘Okolea’ outreach program which he termed as inciteful.
The order by the Interior CS came after chaos rocked one of Mwangaza’s ‘Okolea Program’ functions at Makiri, Igembe South Constituency. During the incident, angry residents protested by slaughtering one cow and setting ablaze mattresses that Mwagaza had come to donate to the public.
“Reports that have reached me is that the Governor’s (Mwangaza) allies were inciteful, disrupted peace and assaulted journalists….thinking they are defending the Meru governor. The targeted people also broke the law,” Kindiki said.
He added: “We have banned meetings that incite people. This is final. We are not going to allow it. If you think it is a joke, try it. Don’t try me.”