Matiang’i faults NIS, says ‘it’s their responsibility to know’ after goons hired during protests

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has questioned the efficiency of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in light of claims that goons were hired to infiltrate recent anti-government protests, saying the agency should have known and acted before chaos unfolded.

Matiang’i, who spoke during an exclusive interview with Citizen TV Tuesday night, took a swipe at state security organs, noting that it is their constitutional responsibility to prevent such breaches before they happen.

He singled out the state intelligence NIS, asserting that it was sophisticated enough to detect such activities well in advance and ensure they are prevented.

“You know, the way the National Intelligence Service (NIS) works, I can’t drive with guns from Kisii to Nairobi in my car or have people bringing guns to me, and the NIS does not know. It’s their responsibility to know that the way this fellow is behaving, he normally has night meetings with people and he’s recruiting goons,” he said.

“I cannot imagine that the security infrastructure does not know that somebody is hiring or training goons to bring them to town to cause mayhem. I cannot imagine that that’s the case, and if they have the information, then they should go forward and act.”

The former CS, who oversaw internal security for years under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, noted that NIS has both the tools and legal mandate to track such operations, further revealing that the agency has access to private communications and can tap mobile communications.

“I don’t want to pretend, I know for sure that the NIS listens to our phone calls, they have ways of collecting intelligence. If they know that somebody is recruiting goons from Roysambu to bring them to Nairobi, why wait until the goons get to Nairobi?” He said.

The 2027 presidential hopeful criticised public officials who have made allegations about paid goons yet hold access to state intelligence and security capabilities.

“What I find very interesting is that allegations are being made by public officials, yet they’re the custodians of information because they’re the ones who have the instruments of power and the capacity to find out who is doing what.”

Despite the threats, no leader or alleged sponsor has been arrested.