Azimio town hall meeting in Murang’a still on – former governor Wa Iria

Former Murang’a governor Mwangi Wa Iria has insisted that the town hall meeting slated for tomorrow is still on even after the police revoked the permit issued on Tuesday.

Wa Iria said they do not require permission from the police to hold the meeting as every Kenyan has the right to assemble.

He said he went to notify the police about the meeting out of courtesy but he was not there to seek permission

“I hear that after we submitted the letter for the meeting it has been rejected but I want to make it clear to the police that we were not seeking permission to hold the meeting,” Wa Iria said.

Further, he said the excuse given by the county police boss that the officers are deployed elsewhere does not hold water, adding that they are not needed in that meeting.

“Who told the police that we need them in our meeting?” He posed

“This is purely a public forum and police officers are not part of it because they also don’t involve the public in their meetings,” he added.

The former governor, however, warned the officers against interfering with the meeting saying should they cause chaos, the leaders will face them head-on.

“The meeting is on and all the Azimio leaders have confirmed their attendance. I urge the residents to come out in large numbers so that we can engage each other,” he added.

Murang’a County police commander David Mathiu revoked the permit saying the notice given was too short for the police to make adequate security preparations.

He said the notice for the meeting ought to have been given four days prior to the intended date but Wa Iria gave a two-day notice.

Mathiu also said the police have been deployed elsewhere and thus there won’t be adequate security officers to maintain order during the meeting.