Nairobi — Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has maintained that the Government is ready and well prepared to secure the country during the upcoming August election.
The Interior CS said Wednesday that his Ministry has stepped up its engagement with other stakeholders to deliver a peaceful and secure election saying the preparations commenced a year ago.
“Even though we have witnessed some pockets of political intolerance, negative ethnicity, and some flareups of hate speech, I am confident that the security machinery that has been put in place will surmount these challenges,” Matiangi said while addressing 451 Assistant County Commissioners who graduated from a paramilitary training at APTC, Embakasi.
He lauded the security agencies for what he described as sustained efforts in monitoring, identifying, reporting, and responding to such threats and risks.
Matiangi pointed out that the Government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to facilitate the independent Electoral and Boundaries IEBC in administering the most peaceful election in the history of our country.
“Even as pessimists foresee the clouds of chaos and crises gathering, we will prove that our resilience is exceptional and peacefully close the lid on the highly charged political environment so that the country moves on,” he said.
Matiangi urged political leaders in the country to refrain from undermining and attacking the National Government Administration Officers for the sake of the country’s peace.
He said that politicians should be careful of what they say noting that attacking officials in the security sector will not win them votes.
“Let us be careful about the country. We have tomorrow. Let us not do things that will undermine the peace of our nation just because of elections,” he stated.
Matiangi told the new administrators that they will be called upon by the government to enhance overall coordination of security operations in the Regions, Counties, Sub Counties and Division in their new role during the August 9 exercise.
The Interior CS also acknowledged the efforts of the NGAO teams across country in the coordination of government initiated projects including inter-communal conflicts management issues, disaster response and coordination, war on drugs, security of critical infrastructure, terrorism and violent extremism, organized criminal gangs and border security.