Keter was arrested for defying Uhuru’s order, claims Jubilee MP

Moiben MP Silas Tiren has linked the arrest of Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter on Friday to their defiance of President Uhuru Kenyatta over the sharing of parliamentary positions.

Mr. Keter was arrested on Friday morning  at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for allegedly forging Treasury Bills worth Ksh.633 million.

Keter and Tiren are among five rebel MPs who were dared to quit the Jubilee Party by vice chairman David Murathe for vying for committee leadership positions in December 2017 against the party’s wishes.

The rest are MPs James Gakuya of Embakasi North, Alex Kosgey of Emgwen and Kangongo Bowen of Marakwet East.

Speaking in Eldoret on Friday hours after Keter’s arrest, Mr. Tiren raised concerns over the state of democracy in the country at the moment.

“If we are going to be targeted for defending public interests how are we expected to discharge our duties as duly elected representatives of the people. My best bet is that he was arrested for disagreeing with the party on house positions,” said Tiren.

The legislator demanded the immediate release of Keter saying that there are legal avenues of solving what he termed as “disagreements”.

“We demand the immediate release of Keter and if they (government) are charging him with anything let them take him to court,” added a defiant Tiren.