Kenyan lawmaker arrested for incitement and ethnic contempt

KENYA – An Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament, Johana Ng’eno has been arrested on charges of incitement and ethnic contempt.

The Kenyan lawmaker was arrested on the evening of Monday September 7, by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at his Magondo home and whisked to Emurua Dikir Police Station to record a statement.

The arrest came after Johana unleashed a verbal attack against President Uhuru Kenyatta for sidelining his deputy, William Ruto.  Speaking on Sunday September 6, the lawmaker stated that the Kenyan President had no right to run the affairs of the government recklessly because Kenya belonged to the 47 million citizens who live in it.

He said;

“So Uhuru Kenyatta, work with the DP and if you do not want, pack and go. We cannot beg you.

“You are not Kenya and Kenya is nor Kenyatta’s or Mama Ngina’s land. This land belongs to 47 million Kenyans, you cannot run it as you wish.

“The President should not dictate who will succeed him and cannot threaten us.

“Moi and Kibaki finished their terms and left, you should do the same next year when the time comes.”

It was gathered that residents of Emurua Dikir held protests after the vocal legislator was arrested but police officers are said to have restored calm in the area.

This is the third time Ng’eno is being arrested over incitement. In the first case on September 3 last year, the legislator was arrested with Ololulunga MCA Jafferson Langat and his Ilmotiok counterpart Samuel Kositany at Olmekenyu trading centre in Narok South on their way to Mau Forest to assess the situation following planned evictions.

In the second incident on February 24 this year, Ng’eno was arrested with Langat (Ololulunga) and Stanley Langat (Ilkerin) at Kimogoro trading centre in Narok South subcounty for holding an illegal meeting on the Building Bridges Initiative.