'I will not be intimidated,' Matiang'i says as he dismisses calls for his resignation

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has dismissed calls for his resignation over what has been termed as partisanship.

Last week, politicians allied to Deputy President William Ruto insisted that Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i and Joe Mucheru should not be involved in any electoral processes arguing that the pair are partisan.

According to the DP’s allies, Matiang’i and Mucheru have already made their political allegiances known as such there is no guarantee that they will uphold the fundamentals of a free and fair election process next year.

On Monday, however, Matiang’i said he is unbothered by the criticism from politicians and will not respond to personal attacks.

He said those calling for his resignation intended to distract him and security officers from executing their responsibilities of ensuring the protection for all stakeholders.

He also defended himself and ICT CS Joe Mucheru from allegations of interfering with the mandate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) saying they were only creating the right environment for the electoral body to discharge its duties in line with their official dockets.

“We, in the security sector, do not conduct elections – that is the mandate of the IEBC, and our work to support the Commission by providing security.” 

The CS was speaking after commissioning the construction of Limuru Sub-county Police Headquarters.

Dr. Matiang’i said he would not be provoked into engaging his detractors in cheap rhetoric and urged government administrators to focus on assigned duties without undue pressure from politicians.

“Don’t be intimidated by threats. You are only answerable and accountable to the people of Kenya, and your job is to uphold the zero tolerance policy on those who encourage political intolerance,” he said.