Meru County Governor Kawira Mwangaza found herself in a confrontation with the police on Wednesday afternoon in Ruiga Village, Imenti Central Constituency. This situation unfolded when law enforcement officers arrived at a residence where she was gifting a cow as part of her ‘Okolea’ outreach program, which had recently been prohibited by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.
As per accounts from nearby residents, Kawira challenged the police officers, seeking to identify who had dispatched them to the location before proceeding to board a police vehicle. The governor claimed she was being arrested, but the officers on the scene contended that she had orchestrated the incident by swiftly entering the police vehicle to feign an arrest.
Subsequently, Governor Kawira posted images on Facebook showing herself disembarking from the police vehicle, asserting that she had been “freed.”
On September 22, Prof. Kindiki had prohibited Governor Mwangaza from conducting gatherings related to the ‘Okolea’ outreach program, which he described as provocative. This directive came in the wake of a disturbance during one of Mwangaza’s ‘Okolea Program’ events in Makiri, Igembe South Constituency. During this incident, irate residents protested by slaughtering a cow and setting fire to mattresses that Mwagaza had intended to donate to the public.
“Reports reaching me suggest that the Governor’s (Mwangaza) supporters were inciting violence, disrupting the peace, and attacking journalists, all under the pretense of defending the Meru governor. Those involved also violated the law,” Kindiki stated.
He further added, “We have banned gatherings that incite people. This is a final decision. We will not tolerate it. If you think it’s a joke, try it. Don’t test my resolve.”