Kalonzo condemns arrest of MP Kaguchia over incitement remarks, terms it selective

Hours after the legislator was whisked out of Royal Media Services offices, where he had spent the night in hiding, Kalonzo called for equal appropriation of the law, arguing that his arrest was selective.

In a statement shared on social media, Kalonzo demanded a fair response to anyone being hounded for making seditious remarks and not only target those not allies to the State.

"We do not support incitement, from anyone. Every leader has a duty to protect peace and to respect the rule of law. The Constitution guarantees every Kenyan freedom of expression. The law must be applied fairly, not selectively," he said.

He argued that many leaders allied to President William Ruto's regime have made inciteful remarks in public yet no appropriate action has been taken, yet Kaguchia was apprehended in haste.

"Mr. Ruto's regime said "shoot and kill" against our own children. No action followed. The UDA Secretary General and a sitting Cabinet Secretary hurled tribal insults, one going so far as to call an entire community "hyenas." Again, no action. Why the double standard?" he posed.

"Justice in Kenya cannot depend on whether you are pro-government or in the opposition. If incitement is the standard, apply it to everyone; Mukurweini MP or Cabinet Secretary, it does not matter. Selective justice is not justice. It has no place in our democracy."

MP Kaguchia was arrested over remarks he made during a public rally in Kieni, Nyeri County on Saturday.

During the rally, Kaguchia warned Mt Kenya residents of dire consequences if they vote for President William Ruto in the 2027 General Election. 

Speaking in his Kikuyu dialect, said that those who will vote for President Ruto will be tracked to their homes and smoked out.

He was forced to remain inside Citizen TV studios on Sunday night after appearing on Inooro TV's Kiririmbi show as a contingent of hooded men waited for him outside the offices to whisk him away.

On Monday morning, Regional DCI commander Daniel Kandie and other senior officers arrived at the premise to arrest him.

Kaguchia maintained he will not relent and that he should be apprehended lawfully under clear circumstances.

"If there is anything the government has on me, I am not fearful of presenting myself to authorities to answer any questions, but not through unprocedural ways," he told Citizen TV.

He is being held at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters along Kiambu Road.