The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has condemned the alleged arrest of politician Francis Mureithi.
UDA announced on Thursday morning that Mureithi, who was one of the party’s leading strategists in the recently-concluded Kiambaa by-election, was arrested at his home in Nairobi.
Wanjohi Githae, the party’s communications representative, said the politician was being transferred to Western Kenya where he would be arraigned in court over an incident that happened over 10 years ago.
The party linked Mureithi’s arrest to his role in the Kiambaa by-election where UDA trounced the ruling Jubilee party to bag the MP seat.
Mureithi is one of Deputy President William Ruto’s allies who coordinated the party’s logistical support before and during the July 15 by-election.
Read: Mureithi Loses As Vote Recount Affirms Babu’s Win
Reports indicate that Mureithi, who unsuccessfully contested for the Embakasi East parliamentary seat in 2017, was arrested in connection with a road accident that happened in the Western region.
But the UDA leadership has questioned the motive of the arrest over the incident that was allegedly settled amicably many years ago.
Francis Mureithi was arrested a few hours ago.
He has been arrested in Nairobi and is about to get to Kakamega. They are charging him with a useless charge.
An event that happened 10- 15 years ago. Something that was settled.
But we know the real issue is Kiambaa.
Tuko macho.
— United Democratic Alliance, UDA. (@UDAKenya) July 22, 2021
The latest comes amid claims by a section of UDA members that the state has plotted to arrest people who financed or campaigned for the Ruto-linked party’s candidate John Njuguna Wanjiku to win the Kimbaa seat.
Njuguna received 21,773 votes while Kariri Njama of Jubilee followed closely with 21,263 votes.
The President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party has vowed to challenge Njuguna’s victory in court over ‘electoral malpractice’.
In November last year, Mureithi was arrested for allegedly defrauding an Eritrean national Sh300 million.
He was charged with obtaining money by false pretence and freed on Sh5 million cash bail.
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