Investigations into an alleged plot by leaders from the Mount Kenya region to eliminate Deputy President William Ruto have linked two of the DP’s aides into a mysterious letter behind the suspected conspiracy.
According to reports by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the aides, from the DP’s communication department, are suspected to have generated and circulated a fake letter.
Sunday Nation reports that the duo, whose phones remained off throughout the weekend, is yet to be grilled by the DCI as they are still following crucial leads to nail them.
The letter dated May 30, 2019, saw four cabinet Secretaries and a number of other leaders summoned to record statements with the DCI after President Uhuru Kenyatta was alarmed following Ruto’s concerns.
Read: Interior PS Kibicho Wants DP Ruto Investigated Over Harassment At JKIA
The letter claims that a meeting was convened at Hotel La Mada behind the National Intelligence Service (NIS) headquarters to discuss how to “shore up support for the President in Mt Kenya and its diaspora” and the issue of Mr Ruto’s “assassination”.
Cabinet Secretaries Joseph Mucheru (ICT), Sicily Kariuki (Health), and Peter Munya (Trade) honoured the summons on Monday and confirmed secret meeting reports but denied there was a plot to eliminate the DP.
Transport CS James Macharia was also summoned but was not among the trio, who held a press briefing outside DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road, Nairobi. Macharia was in China.
As of Saturday, DCI boss George Kinoti confirmed that investigations are ongoing but declined to give more details on the issue.
Also Read: DP Ruto Declines To Be Grilled By Junior DCI Staffer Over Assassination Plot
“Investigations are still ongoing. I can’t say anything that can jeopardise them,” Mr Kinoti said.
According to the daily, a high-ranking official at the Interior ministry privy to the matter disclosed that detectives had been instructed to adopt a wait-and-see approach before making any move on those suspected to have drafted the letter.
The aides are reported to have been alarmed prompting one to travel out of Nairobi while the other switched off his phone.
“Those who wrote the letter are now well-known. Whatever they had in mind has backfired,” said the official.
The letter is believed to have been drafted and printed in a cybercafe on Lang’ata Road with the intention of disrupting meetings held the leaders to apparently counter DP Ruto’s influence in the region.
Also Read:President Kenyatta’s Crisis Meeting, Tough Order To DCI Over Plot To Eliminate DP Ruto
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, who is also linked to the plot to stop DP Ruto from contesting for Presidency come 2022, has since dismissed the claims as mere propaganda.
“It is utter nonsense. There are people out there hawking falsehoods and they will be embarrassed,” he said.
The powerful PS is reported to have recorded statements with the DCI accusing the DP of harassment. He cited a recent incident at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) where Dr Ruto is reported to have confronted him over frustrating his events across the country.
Meanwhile, as investigations intensify the police have turned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to unravel the mystery behind the assassination plot.
Also Read: Four CSs Confirm Secret Meeting, Deny Plot To Assassinate DP Ruto
The officers, who have accused the DP of derailing investigations after he declined to make official complaint with the DCI, will be seeking the service of US-crime busters to determine the authenticity of the letter.
The Director of Public Prosecution Nooridin Haji said the move is aimed at allowing ‘independent’ investigations into the matter, as DP Ruto’s camp has in the past accused them of being biased.
“We have been accused before of being biased in our work. We decided to bring an independent body to carry out investigations and identify the people who authored the suspicious letter and the origin of the allegations,” Haji told MPs on Thursday.
The alleged plot has reportedly divided President Kenyatta’s cabinet with some CSs sympathizing with the DP and others condemning his accusations.
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