The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has hit back at Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua over allegations linking the agency to enforced disappearances, police shootings and mysterious deaths in recent months.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday evening, August 11, the DCI dismissed Gachagua’s allegations as baseless and unsubstantiated, accusing the former Deputy President of making serious claims that could undermine public confidence in law enforcement agencies.
“The DCI has taken note of a litany of baseless and unsubstantiated allegations by the former Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, touching on the DCI,” the agency said.
Gachagua had earlier held a lengthy press conference in which he criticised the government and raised serious allegations against security agencies over alleged abductions, extrajudicial killings and other crimes.
He claimed that Kenya was experiencing a breakdown in law and order and accused DCI Director Mohamed Amin of being deployed to shield officers allegedly involved in extrajudicial killings and abductions.
The DCP leader also cited the deaths of Dr Victoria Mutiso and lawyer Matthew Kyalo Mbobu, alleging that police officers were connected to the two cases and accusing the DCI of covering up their alleged involvement.
In its response, however, the DCI maintained that the allegations were unsupported by evidence. The agency said cases involving abductions, disappearances, deaths, police shootings and attacks on journalists are investigated whenever they fall within its mandate.
The DCI said investigations are based on available evidence and stressed that it does not sanction, facilitate, conceal or participate in criminal conduct.
The agency said its mandate includes investigating serious and complex crimes, gathering evidence and presenting cases to prosecutorial and judicial authorities.
It also rejected suggestions that its investigations are influenced by political affiliation, insisting that no individual is above the law and that public prominence does not determine how a criminal investigation is handled.
“The DCI therefore rejects any suggestion that its investigations are undertaken to serve partisan political interests,” the agency said.
According to the DCI, investigative outcomes and subsequent decisions are guided by evidence and the law rather than political considerations.
The agency further criticised what it described as the use of deaths involving both public figures and private citizens to advance political narratives, arguing that such claims could exploit grieving families for political gain.
Despite the political pressure surrounding the allegations, the DCI said it would not disclose sensitive operational information relating to ongoing investigations. The agency added that suspects would be processed in accordance with the law whenever investigations establish criminal culpability.
The DCI also provided updates on two investigations referenced in its response.
In Cheptais, detectives arrested one suspect linked to the August 8 murder of businessman Nathan Masai Wasama at his shop in Tuikut Trading Centre. The agency said investigators were pursuing additional leads to establish the motive and apprehend other suspects.
On Gachagua’s claim that suspects in the murder of PCEA Tabuga Church Reverend Julius Ndumia Ngari had been released, the DCI said two suspects had been arrested and arraigned over the May 3 murder in Nakuru North.
The agency challenged Gachagua and members of the public with information about alleged criminal activity to submit it through official investigative channels.
The DCI said credible information received through the proper channels would be assessed and acted upon in accordance with the law.