NAIROBI, Kenya – Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara has launched a scathing attack on President William Ruto’s administration, accusing it of weaponising State security to intimidate allies of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
This follows the alleged abrupt withdrawal of her official bodyguard earlier this week.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, a visibly emotional Kihara claimed the move was politically motivated and left her feeling “vulnerable and naked.”
She warned that any harm that might befall her should be blamed squarely on the President.
“Should anything happen to me, Dr Ruto, you are to blame. We sat many times, even with Gachagua, and you said you would never use security forces for political reasons. It is exactly what you are doing,” she said.
According to the MP, her security officer was summoned on Wednesday, disarmed, and had his phone confiscated after being questioned about a recent shootout incident at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters — despite reportedly not being at the scene.
Kihara said the withdrawal of her security detail was not only unfair but amounted to a veiled threat.
“I am a very small person to be fought with such a big punch,” she said. “Please, let me live because when you remove my bodyguard, it means you want to harm me.”
Citing the recent fatal shooting of Kasipul MP Charles Were in Nairobi, she questioned the wisdom of leaving MPs exposed in a climate of growing political tension.
“MPs are entitled to bodyguards. I don’t know whether we are now supposed to hire goons with pangas or rungus to protect ourselves,” she added.
Kihara, a vocal ally of Gachagua, framed the move as part of a broader crackdown on the Deputy President’s loyalists within the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition.
“Being a friend to Gachagua is not a crime,” she said. “I made a conscious choice to support Ruto when he left Jubilee. But if you’re going to use State security to punish people for their political choices, then you’re sending the wrong message about this government’s commitment to democracy.”
Her remarks come amid escalating friction within the coalition.
Earlier this week, Gachagua himself claimed that his life was in danger and that security operatives were trailing him during a church service in Murang’a County, allegedly plotting to use “poison-laced tear gas” on him.
