DP Kindiki » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 27 – Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said the government will not be swayed by threats of political unpopularity or one-term warnings as it moves to clamp down on individuals and groups accused of planning violence and destabilising the country.

Kindiki warned that organisers, financiers, and inciters of violent demonstrations would be treated with the same severity as terrorists and organised gangs.

“There are some people who are threatening us that we will become unpopular or one term should we firmly deal with those seeking to destabilise the Government. The worst that can happen is for us to become unpopular politically. National security is not negotiable.If we become unpopular politically, so be it,” he said.

He said the government would not wait for acts of chaos to unfold but would act decisively saying the Kenya Kwanza Regime will not condone anarchy.

“To the planners of anarchy and violence, we will never again wait for you to execute your heinous acts. We will deal with you the same way we deal with terrorists. We will handle you at source before you implement your plans to destabilise the country,” Kindiki said.

The remarks come in the wake of violent unrest witnessed on Wednesday, during which public infrastructure and government installations were targeted by protestors.

While acknowledging that the youth had raised genuine concerns including better governance and accountability he decried criminal elements had hijacked the demonstrations.

“The young people had genuine concerns… but that was taken advantage of by criminal elements who perpetrated chaos and attacked government installations. This will not happen again. I can assure you, it would not recur,” he stated.

The Deputy President recalled the 1982 attempted coup and the 2007/08 post-election violence as painful reminders of what happens when political grievances spiral into lawlessness.

“In 1982, we had a foiled coup attempt… but the number of lives lost and the kind of destruction witnessed was huge. The painful repercussions are still being felt today,” he said.

“It was a similar scenario during the 2007/08 post-election violence where we lost many lives and property worth billions of shillings was destroyed.”

He affirmed that while the government remains committed to upholding constitutional freedoms, no one would be allowed to abuse those rights to threaten the peace and stability of the nation.

“We won’t interfere with the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, but we would not allow anybody to attack security facilities, steal guns and ammunition in the name of exercising their rights. We will protect the nation’s stability and order,”Kindiki noted.

The Deputy President also criticised unnamed politicians whom he accused of mocking government efforts to maintain order and attempting to incite unrest for political mileage.

“Those politicians making a mockery of this should know we won’t allow what happened on Wednesday to happen again. National security and stability are different from political theatrics and chest-thumping over political contests,” he said.