DP Ruto slams DCI boss Kinoti for reopening PEV cases

The director of Criminal Investigation l George Kinoti said that the move to reopen the investigations was reached after the sleuths received complaints from several communities under ethnic profiling and intimidations during the current rising political temperatures in the country

The list of those who have lodged complaints and expressed deadly fears for their lives include victims of the 2007-08 Post Election Violence (PEV).

“We will not let it happen again,” said George Kinoti, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), “we have received numerous complaints and we are acting on them.”

Kinoti spoke at the DCI Headquarters on Monday, as more than 150 people, mainly from Rift Valley-the hotbed of the 2007-08 election violence, recorded statements.

Kinoti noted that 118 cases had been filed, including 72 by people whose loved ones were killed in the post-election violence and were still receiving threats.

He said 44 others are from people who were driven out of their homes, some returned but are still living under threats.

Kinoti said they are reopening the cases because the threats and intimidation reported by some of the victims carry heavy similarities akin to what happened in the country in 2007-08.

“It is a matter we cannot take lightly because we all saw what happened in our country. People were well profiled and deliberately perceived as enemies just because of their voting pattern,” Kinoti said, “in the end, many people were killed, their houses burnt and many uprooted from their homes.”

International criminal court (ICC) indicted Six individuals, including President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto for a number of roles they played in the chaos but their cases were dismissed for lack of evidence.

The two had been charged alongside then-Police Commissioner Mohamed Ali, Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, former Minister Henry Kosgey and Radio Presenter Joshua Arap Sang. All their cases were dropped for lack of evidence.

Back in the country, a local search for perpetrators was carried out and several suspects were arrested and charged. However, Kenyans have never known anything beyond that or the progress of their cases.

“We are going back to these cases because people are being threatened, we cannot allow this to happen again in our country,” Kinoti said, “we have heard from the victims and they all know who are threatening them. We will protect them.”

As Kenya’s political temperatures are rising as the country prepares for the 2022 presidential election, speculations on who will succeed incumbent President Kenyatta who is on his second and final term after re-election in 2017 is threatening peace.

Kenyatta’s Deputy William Ruto has emerged to slam DCI George Kinoti terming his actions to reopen the PEV cases as I’ll motivated and a threat to cohesion.

Ruto in post on his social media has asked the DCI to stop pushing the country to ethnic unrest.

The provocative INCITEMENT to ethnic hate/division INTENDED by the ressurection of PEV is an EVIL attempt to resuscitate the TRIBE project DESTROYED by the HUSTLER movements’ REALISATION that poverty and unemployment DELIBERATELY bred by poor leadership is our PROBLEM NOT our tribes.