Matiang'i: End the blame game, start talking

Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has urged the government to stop blaming the opposition for last week’s protests and instead initiate national dialogue to address the mounting public discontent.

Speaking on Sunday in Kiambu alongside Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, Dr Matiang’i called on President William Ruto and his Cabinet to tone down their political rhetoric and adopt a more reconciliatory approach amid escalating tensions and the deadly demonstrations.

Addressing congregants after Sunday service at PCEA Thika Church, the two leaders implored President Ruto and his Cabinet to abandon chest-thumping and instead champion peace by calling for a national dialogue. “I know these wonderful people in government because I have worked with some of them before. I don’t believe their problem is capacity, they understand this country. Sometimes I’m surprised by some of the things they say because we know them and how capable they are. We are encouraging them,” said Dr Matiang’i.

He warned that the unprecedented level of public anger and violence should not be ignored. Dismissing the grievances of Kenyans, particularly the youth, risks deepening the crisis.

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“I have been travelling around the country, and the level of anger I have witnessed is unprecedented. To imagine that nothing is wrong, that it’s business as usual, honestly, you would have to be a very strange person,” Dr Matiang’i stated.

He also ridiculed government officials who tried to downplay the protests, which turned deadly, by claiming that demonstrators had been brought in from Central Kenya and were, therefore, ethnically motivated. “Those excuses are laughable. When you saw them on TV dropping money, why didn’t you arrest them? As a minister, I would never make such allegations. I ask you, wananchi, what are you supposed to do? You don’t have handcuffs, should I start crying like you?” he asked.

MP Wamuchomba echoed Dr Matiang’i’s concerns, condemning the use of force against demonstrators and warning that police brutality would only fuel further anger and resistance.

“I have said that guns, bullets, and tear gas will not solve this, if anything, they will make things worse. When dealing with mob psychology, sometimes you need to calm people down. I believe the only way out of this stalemate is not tear gas, not orders to shoot and kill, not arrests, it is dialogue,” she emphasised.

Reverend Daniel Nderitu said, “Those who are devouring the resources of our land, misusing and squandering them, are no better than the thugs who attacked and maimed the Jewish man who was simply on a business trip.”