The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been slammed for being used as a tool to fight perceived political enemies following the arbitrary arrest and detention of Osman Khalif, an aide to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
Osman, who is a former South C MCA and an advisor to Governor Sakaja was arrested and taken for questioning by the directorate of criminal investigations (DCI) officers before being held at an undisclosed place.
He was released at a far-flung police station 10 days later without being arraigned after undergoing torture and untold suffering.
Osman’s arrest has been linked to a political battle waged on the Nairobi Governor by powerful individuals in the national government administration who see his meteoric rise in the political ladder as a threat to their future political ambitions.
It is the same powers that be who just recently whined over police harassment in the previous regime and are now reportedly using a special unit of the DCI to fight perceived political enemies.
Osman was reportedly abducted in broad daylight and taken to an undisclosed place while the Nairobi Governor was out of the country in Morocco on official duty.
According to close links to Sakaja, some powerful forces in the national government and a senior official within Sakaja”s administration are out to undermine the City boss leading to the arbitrary arrest of his close ally as well as an investigation into his administration which, for months on end now have failed to unearth any scandals in the Nairobi City County administration.
Sakaja is seen as a real threat to the ambition of these political players who are angling to succeed president William Ruto in 2032 while the county official looks at dethroning Sakaja as the county boss .
The DCI has been urged to desist from the tendency of being used by top powers to clip the growing popularity of Sakaja as well as settlement of political scores and instead execute their duties with due diligence.
Pointers indicate that Sakaja has been in the receiving end as his allies are harassed in a bid to ensure that he does not secure a second term as Governor out of the fear that he could be the only threat for the aspiration of some Mount Kenya political leaders who looks to rise to the Presidency after President Ruto ends his two terms in office.
Upon his release, Osman pointed out that he was held at a place he is not aware of only to be tortured and released at a police station that he has never seen before. His family’s attempts to know of his whereabouts fell on deaf ears as the DCI also failed to honor a court order to produce him in court for arraignment.
Osman said that his torturers were on a political mission due to his close ties with Governor Sakaja.
Sakaja has in the last few months had no love lost with the powerful politician and other top national government leaders and at one point, Sakaja was snubbed at an event attended by the President.
Fights against the Governor started when he proposed the relocation of long distant public service vehicles to the Green Park bus terminus as he tries to decongest the central business district.
Another of the governor’s fights is the hawkers menace that has seen close allies of the senior politician drawn from Mount Kenya region which has the most hawkers and players in the Matatu industry gang up against Sakaja’s efforts to bring order to the city.
According to sources at City Hall, the DCI has been used as a tool to settle these political scores.
The efforts by the DCI have been seen as a plot to engineer a downfall of Sakaja to ensure a senior official in his administration takes over from him with the believe that Sakaja could be a stumbling block in 2032.
Members of Osman Khalif’s family said that the governor’s side was abducted at a parking lot and information on his whereabouts kept secret even as the governor is out of the country an indication that the DCI had waiting for Sakaja to fly out so that they can pounce in Osman.