Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara livestreams dramatic arrest

Naivasha Member of Parliament Jayne Kihara was on Thursday afternoon arrested at her home in Nakuru County.

In the dramatic incident livestreamed on her Facebook account, dozens of officers, believed to be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), raided her Maraigushu home in Naivasha.

Kihara, in the live footage, could be seen being escorted to the nearby SUVs while flanked by her bodyguards.

She was ushered into one of the vehicles, which was trailed by several others and driven to the Naivasha Police Station, where she is currently recording her statement.

The MP is later on expected to be transported to the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road, Nairobi.

Earlier photos posted on her Facebook account showed a group of heavily armed officers, some in uniform and others wearing civilian attire.

“Dozens of police officers are currently at my Maraigushu home to arrest me,” she wrote.

This was shortly after she had held a meeting with sand harvesters from Mai Mahiu.

The arrest comes days after the MP failed to honour DCI summons over her alleged earlier remarks deemed to undermine the authority of an unnamed public officer.

In a recent notice signed by Assistant Inspector General George Lenny Kisaka, DCI had directed Kihara to appear at its headquarters on Monday, July 14, at 10.30am.

“I hereby compel you, Hon. Jayne Njeri Wanjiku Kihara, MP for Naivasha Constituency… to appear before me… without fail,” the notice shared by the MP on Sunday read in part.

“Failure to comply with the requisition constitutes an offence liable to prosecution.”

The summons were served on Friday, after a probe into an alleged dissemination of “inciteful or disruptive content” on her social media.

Following the summons, she took to her Facebook account and wrote: “The days of intimidating leaders using the criminal justice system are long gone. Summoning me to DCI headquarters tomorrow will not change Kenyans’ resolve, because this is not about Jayne Kihara but about our country, Kenya.”

Kihara's arrest follows growing tensions within the Kenya Kwanza coalition, with sections of leaders allied to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accusing the State of targeting them due to their change of loyalty.

Kihara has previously accused President William Ruto of using security forces to frustrate Gachagua’s political allies after her security detail was allegedly withdrawn in May this year.

Following the incident, she lamented that she felt "vulnerable and naked" and warned that any harm that may befall her should be blamed on the Head of State.

In a passionate appeal then, the MP pleaded with President Ruto to keep his campaign promise of not weaponising State security to settle political scores and restore her security.

Gachagua had at the time also claimed that his life was in danger and that Ruto should be blamed if anything happens to him.

The former DP claimed that security officers from several State intelligence agencies were trailing him while he attended a church service in Gatanga, Murang’a County, adding that the officers intended to throw poison-laced tear gas at him.