A regional governor in Kenya, Dhado Godhana, was arrested late Saturday following a series of violent clashes in Tana River County that have left 18 people dead in the past week.
The Director of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Ibrahim Amin, confirmed to reporters that Godhana and Galole Member of Parliament Hiribae Said Buya were detained. The arrests came after both officials failed to respond to police summons regarding their potential involvement in the ongoing violence.
Amin explained that the two were summoned to police offices for questioning but did not honor the request. “The two had been summoned to our offices in connection with the clashes but they failed to honor the summons,” Amin told reporters.
Kenya’s Council of Governors (CoG) Chair, Ahmed Abdullahi, criticized the manner of Godhana’s arrest, describing it as a violation of the governor’s constitutional rights. He noted that governors are elected state officials and should not be subjected to what he termed as “bullying.”
“Governors are elected State officers and Heads of County Governments who are well known to the public. The manner in which the Governor was arrested is a flagrant disregard to the Governor’s rights as enshrined in article 29 of the Constitution and we strongly condemn such bullying,” Abdullahi stated.
Both officials are currently being held at Makupa Police Station while investigations continue. Authorities are still trying to establish the cause of the violence, which has forced dozens to flee and has left several people hospitalized.
The fighting began last week, resulting in the deaths of 14 people by early Saturday. Tana River County Commissioner David Koskei confirmed that four additional people were killed later that day, raising the total death toll to 18.
