Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johana Ngeno on Saturday, June 10, 2023, had a close call when police officers tried to detain him after he attended a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) recruitment drive at TM grounds.
The police officers were acting under orders from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nairobi in collaboration with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC). However, the lawmaker, with the backing of his followers, refused to comply, inferring that the arrest was unjustified.
The supporters of the MP were outraged that the officers had no arrest warrant when they attempted to take him away on a weekend. The rowdy supporters protected Ngeno, who has been on the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) radar for a while, by deflating the tyres of the officers’ car in an effort to thwart their plans. However, the police managed to capture one of the group leaders and take him to the Narok Police Station.
In September 2020, Ng’eno was arrested for making remarks likely to incite communities against each other. Before he was apprehended in Transmara, Ng’eno had expressed his frustration towards ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta on account of discords within the Jubilee Party. In a widely shared video, the MP admonished the former President, calling on him to work with his then-deputy William Ruto or else leave office.
In February 2020, he was detained alongside two local war representatives while preparing to address settlers who were facing eviction from the MU forest. The authorities charged the three leaders with inciting the communities ahead of their eviction from the forest.
