Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has responded to those calling upon him to resign for being involved with presidential campaigns.
A section of politicians have been pushing for his resignation after he openly declared his support for ODM leader Raila Odinga’s presidential bid in the coming General Elections.
According to Matiang’i, those asking him to resign have the intention of distracting him and security officers from carrying out their responsibilities as required.
He said that the attacks were personal but he will not be bothered by them.
Through a statement, he defended himself and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru for being involved with IEBC.
Matiang’i rubbished claims that they were interfering with IEBC’s mandate while saying that the partnership between the two ministries and the electoral commission is only meant for creating a conducive environment for IEBC to discharge its duties accordingly.
“We, in the security sector, do not conduct elections – that is the mandate of the IEBC, and our work is to support the commission by providing security,” the CS stated.
He also said that he will not be provoked to engage his critics.
Aside from that, Matiang’i urged local administrators to prioritize women aspirants in the coming elections. He said that they will be given more attention since they are vulnerable to attacks and intimidations.
Over the weekend, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) wrote a letter to IEBC demanding the commission to warn the two CSs against being involved with the presidential campaigns while urging them to resign.
“The stand of the two CSs has compromised the offices they hold and they should resign and engage in a full-time election campaign,” part of the letter read.
The party said that the cabinet secretaries were intruding on IEBC hence the commission will not guarantee Kenyans free and fair elections.
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