Prime Minister Raila Odinga's son Fidel was yesterday involved in a scuffle with a matatu driver during which he drew a sword. Fidel says he was acting in self-defence.
Fidel was upset when a Nissan matatu plying the Lavington route blocked his sleek black Mercedes, registration KBP125A, on Church Road in Westlands as it stopped to pick up passengers.
Fidel allegedly jumped out of the car brandishing the sword and threatened the matatu driver, Peter Githinji. "Do you know who I am?" Fidel is said to have shouted.
Touts at the scene near the Westlands bus and matatu stage rushed to rescue Githinji before Fidel sped off. The PM's son then drove to Muthangari Police Station where he reported that a matatu driver had attempted to run over him. "I was flagged down by the police from Muthangari a short distance from where the incident happened," Githinji narrated at the police station where he was taken.
The driver was however not placed under arrest or locked up. He was kept in the cells until 7pm when Dagoretti police boss Mathew Gwio ordered his release. However the matatu was not detained and proceeded on its journey with another driver after Githinji was picked up.
At Muthangari, Fidel, who was with two women, ranted and accused police of not listening to him. “He has only said he has been knocked by a matatu and continues to claim that l am not listening to him,” said the officer at the front desk who did not want to be named.
The police said they were not clear about the complaint by Fidel as he refused to co-operate with them or explain details of the incident.Fidel refused to answer questions at the police station. "There is no problem. I am going to report the matter to the Commissioner of Police," he said before driving off.
Yesterday evening Fidel explained that he had been driving himself along Waiyaki Way in the Mercedes Benz when the matatu driver suddenly blocked him. "I then came out of the car to ask him why he had blocked my way only for him to throw words at me. After a brief exchange I walked back to my car only for me to look back and see some men charging towards me with spanners. So I decided to get ready to defend myself since I did not have my bodyguards with me at the time," he explained. "I pulled out a machete to scare them but unfortunately one of them held my hand from behind and grabbed the machete. At that point I got back into the car and drove to Muthangari Police Station where I reported the incident," said Fidel.
The Prime Minister's son denied bulldozing police at Muthangari insisting that the officer there was disrespectful. "The policeman was too busy taking calls on his mobile line instead of attending to me so I walked away in protest to look for help elsewhere," said Fidel.
At the Westlands terminus, matatu operators appealed for protection and justice. "Hawa vijana wa pesa wanataka kutusumbua (these children of the rich want to make our lives difficult)," said an operator who feared he could be victimised if he revealed his name.
