FBI shares probe report on Ruto ‘death plot’ letter

By , K24 Digital
On Mon, 1 Jul, 2019 07:45 | 3 mins read

By Kinyuru Munuhe

All focus will be on Harambee House Annex today as detectives seek to unlock the puzzle over a letter at the centre of assassination claims by Deputy President William Ruto.

Yesterday, People Daily established that the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)  shared its report on the possible authors of the letter with the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti and the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji last Friday.

Although details of the FBI report were not available, it is understood that focus had narrowed down to Ruto’s office after part of the findings linked the letter to his aides.

Last evening, detectives probing the matter disclosed that they were training their guns on several operatives within his office to also determine who was aware of the letter before it was leaked to the public.

Other sources privy to the investigations said two aides attached to Ruto’s Harambee House Annex office had been linked to the letter.

“The two are likely to record statements with Kinoti’s team any time from tomorrow,” an officer familiar with the investigations said.

This development came as the director of Digital Communications and Diaspora in the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) Dennis Itumbi distanced himself from the letter, saying he knew nothing about it.

“By the way I do not work for DP. I work for the Presidency from State House. I have not received any summons. I learnt about it today from the Sunday Nation, unless Sunday Nationis an extension of the DCI. When I receive summons I will let you know. People should not say we have switched off our phones,” Itumbi told People Daily by telephone.

Communications officials

Itumbi, best known for his virulent online campaign for the Jubilee Party, has recently been a vocal defender of the DP after being eased out of State House, together with other communication officials.

The group is now based in Ruto’s Harambee House Annex office and have been linked to the DP’s 2022 State House bid.

Ruto’s Communication Secretary David Mugonyi was not reachable for comment while Emmanuel Talam, a communications officer at Harambee House Annex did not respond to phone calls by the time of going to press.

Other PSCU directors accommodated at Harambee House Annex include Munyori Buku (public communications), Eric Ng’eno (messaging), James Kinyua (branding and events) and Munira Mohammed.

Kinoti and Haji are expected to make public, the full report from the FBI whose services they enlisted to unravel the truth about the letter.

They roped in the FBI so as to avoid any suspicions of partiality over the investigations.

Forensic investigations on both Twitter and Facebook platforms are cited as fundamental basis highly relied on to establish the trail, including pinning down the actual authors.

At the same time, investigators want to establish other players’ either privy to or authorised contents of the letter before it was released on social media.

Authors

Although the police sources intimated to have positively identified the actual authors of the explosive letter, unmasking the planners would help DCI officers unravel the motive.

“We are at an advanced stage. At times, the mastermind bears greatest responsibility of an offence than the principal suspect,” a senior detective said.

So far, three Cabinet Secretaries and 20 Principal Secretaries and parastatal heads that attend Hotel La Mada meetings to coordinate government projects in Mt Kenya region, a venue where the alleged murder plot was hatched, have recorded their statements.

Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has also filed a complaint with the DCI citing harassment from the DP’s office.

Last week, Ruto’s close quarter protection detail sparked a security dilemma of the second person in command after he joined football fans at the Camp Toyoyo playground in Nairobi’s Jericho area until one am to watch African Cup of Nations match pitting Kenya versus Algeria.

People Daily established that the DP checked in at the facility at 10.45pm and left at 1am.

This occurred a day after the DP reportedly called Kinoti after the letter under investigations went viral on social media.

Security experts contend that the three and a quarter hours night stay at one of the profiled high risk areas infested by organised criminal gangs amounts to a “serious security lapse.”

pert and a former General Service Unit (GSU) officer George Musamali said.

Only the President and the Deputy are accorded highly and best-trained officers in escort and guards attached to the elite Recce Company, a special formation in the General Service Unit.

“The bodyguard’s Bible provides that when one is assigned to protect a VIP, you have to conduct an assessment of the social and official activity of the subject, including route planning. The problem is that we do not take people in those units on merit. There is nepotism and tribalism. The service should establish a professional VIP protection unit,” Musamali added.