BY SAM ALFAN.
Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has faulted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for trying to use claims of robbery with violence in a bid to cover up an alleged raid that occured at his house last week.
Matiang’i through his lawyers Danstan Omari, Sam Nyaberi and Shadrack Wambui said the DCI was engaging on a fishing expedition by filing endless applications in various courts seeking be supplied with CCTV footage of the purported raid at his Karen home.
Lawyer Omari said the DCI has introduced two a new dimension of robbery with violence to the matter adding that the former CS’s lawyers nor Matiang’i reported claims of robbery on an attempted robbery at his Karen residence.
The lawyer maintained that the raid was carried out by state agencies.
“As we said, the raid by the state agencies cut across more than nine to ten discipline forces. So any trial to bring an issues that there was robbery maybe the DCI will arrest one two small boys in town and say they are the ones who attempted to rob (the CS) and the story ends,” said Omari.
Lawyer Omari reiterated that they were not objecting to the production of the CCTV footages but it must be done within the law.
“The Data Protection ACT is very clear we will be required to be served, we will appoint our own experts to be present at the time they will be extracting the footage. It is well known the very many cases that have collapsed and have been withdrawn is because the DCI was manufacturing evidence. We know that once they check the footage of the CS they will go an manufacture it,” said lawyer Omari.
He added that Matiang’i has 200 lawyers whom the DCI should serve with the application instead of sneaking them from one court to another secretly.
They said they were ready and determined to defend the Matiangi to the last means provided under the law.
Matiang’i lawyer Omari further said they will have their own experts to analyze and verify the CCTV footage which will be extracted by the DCI adding it should be done in the presence of the media the whole world will see what is in that CCTV footage so that it is nolonger an issue that they have taken and cooked the CCTV footage.
He said they will be asking that the media be present and be allowed to air the CCTV footage so the whole world can see what is there. “Otherwise the question of transparency and accountability is at stake.”
Lawyer Wambui said that the attempted robbery with violence section 297 being used by the DCI in his application to persuade courts to give him orders was declared unconstitutional by the High Court.
He added that when you see the DCI investigating an offence that does not exist that tells you there is malice and forethought they want to frame the former CS but his legal team will be ready to defend him.
Speaking at Milimani Law Courts building, lawyer Sam Nyaberi revealed that the DCI avoided mentioning the former powerful cabinet secretary in his application but mentioned the number of the land where Matiang’i home is situated and names of security companies providing security at the CS home.
He said the move was questionable and asked what the DCI was hiding.
