Drama as Senator Lang’at arrested after 12-hour standoff at his house
Bomet Senator Christopher Lang’at was arrested on Monday morning after a 12-hour standoff with officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who had camped outside his house in Nyayo Embakassi since Sunday evening.
After his arrest, Lang’at was first driven to the Embakassi Police Station aboard a DCI vehicle accompanied by Mr Nelson Havi, the President of the Law Society of Kenya, and then taken to the Subcounty Criminal Investigation Officer (SCIO) office, before leaving, still under heavy police guard.
“Soon after they left the station, the police vehicle carrying him first used Mombasa road then Mbagathi way, Ngong road, Rose Avenue, Wood Avenue and it passed outside Nairobi area police station, then drover past Kileleshwa police station. They again took James Gichuru road, then entered Manyani West road, before their colleagues blocked media at the entrance and disappearing,” Havi protested.
The LSK president questioned the reason for the senators’ arrest.
“But if there is no crime that they (senators) have committed and the only reason as to why they are being held siege in their houses is to prevent them from going to the senate, then this is the epitome of abuse of power. We are going to what will be a police state,” complained Havi.
In a series of tweets, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, revealed that Senator Lang’at told him that he was allegedly being taken to Bomet.
Sen.Lang’at told he is being taken to Bomet.He is with LSK President Havi in a black Subaru Forrester with fake number plate KCD 978B. It’s insurance sticker however indicates GKB 918G. In it are 3 officers one of whom identified himself as Terer. They are past Kikuyu. pic.twitter.com/OpCriWYE8M
— KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN, E.G.H (@kipmurkomen) August 17, 2020
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, who is also under siege, is still locked up in his house, and claimed he was being intmidated to change his strong stance on the third-basis revenue sharing bill.
Malala, who addressed the press through the window of his house in Kitengela, accused state security agencies of being used to intimidate him over the divisive revenue allocation formula.
The legislator has since early Monday morning defied orders and summons from DCI officers camped at his home terming illegal their bid to arrest him for unspecified reasons.
He claimed his security detail was withdrawn after more than 20 armed officers came knocking on his door at 3am on Monday and reportedly refused to identify themselves.
The third Senator, Samburu’s Ltumbesi Lelegwe, according to colleagues who spoke on the floor of the Senate on Monday, was also arrested while on his way to the House and taken to Samburu for questioning.