NAIROBI, Kenya- Businessman and politician Jimi Wanjigi has emerged from his hiding, after 2 days of a police raid at his Muthaiga home.
The armed police officers including elite units, staged the raid for hours without success.
The incident, echoing a similar raid seven years ago, has intensified Wanjigi’s criticism of President William Ruto’s administration.
Standing on the steps of his residence, Wanjigi drew a stark parallel between the current situation and the one he faced years ago during the leadership of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
President Ruto was then serving as a Deputy President.
“Seven years ago right on these steps, I had a similar incident and a similar press conference,” he said, his voice laden with frustration.
“We had been raided for three days. This time it has been for two days, for nothing else but expressing our political right to express ourselves.”
The raid, which Wanjigi described as a brutal assault on his family, involved police officers who allegedly vandalized his home and mistreated his wife and two children.
“(President) William Ruto, don’t bring it to our home. Those policemen assaulted my wife, and children, and vandalized the house… what does this have to do with the politics we do out there?” he rhetorically asked.
Wanjigi, a vocal critic of the Ruto administration’s economic policies, accused the government of using police to target him and his family.
“My late father stood on these steps and said something very profound: you must distinguish between a person and politics,” Wanjigi recalled. “Politics are for men to square it out away from the family.”
He highlighted the personal cost of political dissent, contrasting his family’s suffering with the broader impact of the protests he supports.
“There are many children out there who have died since the protests started,” he said.
Describing the scene at his home, Wanjigi recounted being pursued by police officers and witnessing acts of aggression.
“Dozens of police officers have been here and have done criminal things that you cannot believe,” he asserted.
Despite the chaos and intimidation, he said he will remain resolute.
“Seven years ago, they looked for me in this house and they couldn’t find me. Even now, if you look for me in this house, you will not find me.”
He has vowed to continue with his advocacy for good governance.
“William Ruto, you are collapsing the economy of Kenya. You come and plant things in my house to make it look like it is criminal,” Wanjigi charged.
He has since secured a court order barring police from arrested him.
