Fred Matiang'i responds to William Ruto's claim of using chiefs to rig 2022 elections

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has responded to the allegations by the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate William Ruto on the the state using chiefs to compromise the elections which are just three days away.

In a media address on August 5, the CS said the allegations by the deputy president would have gone a long way if there was accompanying evidence supporting the claims he made. Matiang’i said the meetings the DP said were being done at secretively were being done in day time and in public spaces.

“These unsubstantiated allegations are consistent with frequent, unfounded, and unconscionable attacks against the Government and public officers by His Excellency the Deputy President. The Government is run through established and well-known structures and accountability channels. It is not a secret society cloaked in conspiracies and dark agendas,” CS Matiang’i said.

READ: Interior PS Kibicho calls out DP Ruto on plot to use chiefs to disrupt elections

Interior CS Fred Matiang'i addressing the media on August 5 2022 CS Matinagi addressing the media Pulse Live Kenya

Matiang’i warned the deputy president against mentioning of names of regional security leaders and administrators as it jeopardized the capability of them performing their functions and put their lives at risk as well. He urged the DP to follow proper channels if he intended to have any issues addressed.

“Official channels to register concerns with the conduct of public officers are well laid out. Chastising and threatening them in public is not one of them. As a senior leader in the country, His Excellency the Deputy President’s pronouncements have the capacity to exert influence on his supporters and their relationships with government officers.

Personalised attacks that cast aspersions on public officers who have no opportunity to defend their honour against their seniors injures reputations potentially and exposes the victims and their families to harm,” Matiangi remarked.

READ: Ruto finally secures Nyayo stadium after court order

Deputy President William Ruto Pulse Live Kenya

CS Matiang’i affirmed that the government was not going to interfere with the elections in anyway insisting internet and power supply would remain stable. Regarding the recent incident where the Kenya Kwanza Coalition was denied access to Bukhungu stadium in Kakamega, CS Matiang'i said the facilities belonged to the county governments and it was up to them to lease them.