Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia and Belgut MP Nelson Koech at Royal Media Services / ScreengrabKisii Senator Richard Onyonka was on Sunday evening heard appealing to Belgut MP Nelson Koech to help Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia amid fears that the legislator could be arrested.
The exchange captured in a video seen by The Star occurred when Kaguchia expressed reluctance to leave the Royal Media Services studio, claiming that people were waiting for him outside.
"The way those people are outside, I can't go. These are goons," Kaguchia said.
Koech dismissed the concerns, assuring his colleague that those outside would accompany him.
"They are not goons; they will go with you," Koech responded.
Onyonka then stepped in, urging Koech to assist Kaguchia and appealing for solidarity among Members of Parliament.
"Go with him; we are colleagues. Let us just carry this guy and take him to DCI," Onyonka said as Koech excused himself to check his phone.
The remarks came during a tense exchange as concerns mounted shortly before the MP's arrest.
Kaguchia was arrested outside the Royal Media Services studios after spending the night inside the premises, where he had sought refuge following the arrival of security officers.
Speaking in an interview while still inside the media house before his arrest, the MP said he had no objection to being questioned by authorities, but wanted any arrest to be conducted in accordance with the law.
The legislator said he chose not to leave the media house after learning that armed, hooded and masked men were waiting outside to arrest him, insisting that the manner in which the operation was being conducted raised fears for his safety.
"The constitutional way of being arrested in Kenya is by being summoned and arrested by uniformed policemen, and that must also be done under clear circumstances," he said.
"Considering that we are in this country where we have abductions and forced disappearances, you would expect that I would definitely be alarmed, and that's why I refused to walk into that trap, and I have stayed here overnight," he said.
"They continue building that contingent."
The MP maintained that he is a law-abiding citizen who is willing to cooperate with investigators if required.
"If there is anything that the government has on me, I'm not fearful of presenting myself to authorities to answer any question that might be on me in whichever way, but not through unprocedural means," he said.
The MP was subsequently escorted to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road for grilling over the remarks he allegedly made during a political rally.
Latest reports indicate that the Mukurwe-ini MP John Kaguchia was later moved and is detained at Kamukunji Police Station after his arrest on Monday.
