Principal Secretary, State Department for Interior, Karanja Kibicho, has revealed that the government spent Ksh 50 million to buy teargas in the aftermath of 2017 General Elections.
The PS in an interview with Citizen TV-owned Inooro FM on Tuesday, February 16, stated that the government had to buy a lot of teargas to enable police deal with thousands of protesters.
According to Kibicho, the government spent Ksh10 million monthly to buy teargas which was used to contain protesters.
“The situation was difficult because before the handshake, we used to spent more Ksh 10 million every month to buy teargas alone, which is a lot of money,” the PS said.
The PS went on to praise the handshake for the peace it had brought to the country and added that BBI is the best way to ensure that whatever happened in 2017 is not repeated in the country.
“Things are different now as the money is now being used to address other issues related to improvement of the police department;” he added.
The country faced heightened tension after the 2017 general elections which saw supporters of NASA led by ODM leader Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavidi (ANC), Isaac Ruto (Chama Cha Mashinani) and Moses Wetang'ula (Ford Kenya) hit the streets in protest.
The Nasa politicians led their supporters to the streets every Monday to protest the elections which they claimed had been rigged.
The situation worsened when the Supreme Court nullified the presidential election and called for a re-run. The opposition party led by Raila Odinga declined to participate in the second elections.
The police were called upon every so often to maintain law and order; and disperse rioters using teargas cannisters and water canons.
The police did not relent in their efforts to maintain law and order with the government taking a tough stand against protesters.
The situation, however, calmed down on March 9, 2018 when Uhuru and Raila made the famous handshake. The two claimed that it was in the country’s best interest to work together.
