This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
July 3, 2019: The arrest of blogger Robert Alai and digital strategist Dennis Itumbi has sparked controversy, with Alai claiming it's part of a war on those allied to Deputy President William Ruto.
Alai was released on a Sh300,000 cash bail after spending two weeks in custody over posts he made about slain police officers. He now claims the arrest is a strategy to target those close to Ruto.
Itumbi was arrested in relation to investigations into an assassination letter that circulated, claiming four Cabinet Secretaries from the Central region held meetings at La Mada hotel to scheme on eliminating Ruto. However, Ruto has yet to make a formal complaint.
Alai distanced himself from Ruto, saying he's never in touch with him and accused the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) of being used to step on perceived enemies. He claimed the ATPU found no evidence against him and resorted to using photos of face charges with terrorism and using the media for psychological warfare.
Alai further claimed that DCI Kinoti is aware of the psychological warfare behind the assassination letter and that he had been approached by Kinoti to join his team in the war on corruption. He tweeted that Kinoti had sent Maina Kageni and others to ask him if he could help with prosecuting corruption cases through blogs.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator responded to Itumbi's arrest, saying it's a strategy to divert attention from the La Mada meeting and plan. However, DCI Kinoti stated that all their investigations have put Itumbi at the center of the fake assassination letter.
