By Christine Musa
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has been arrested by Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers at his Kitengela home after 10 hours of being under house arrest.
In a dramatic arrest at 2:2pm, Senator Malala was seized following a standoff that lasted for an hour between police and a group of senators who had gone to rescue him after Speaker Kenneth Lusaka adjourned debate on revenue sharing formula.
Senators Kipchumba Murkomen(Elgeyo Marakwet), Mutula Junior (Makueni), Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi), Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho), Ledama Lekina (Narok) and Stewart Madzayo(Kilifi) attempted to shield Malala, engaging the detectives in bitter exchanges for an hour.
The furious legislatures demanded that they all be arrested, saying the arrest of Malala was intimidation over his stance on the third basis for sharing of county revenue.
After highly-heated exchanges, the detectives said Malala was being arrested for defying the government protocols on COVID-19 prevention while distributing sanitizers in his county on Sunday.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Makueni Senator Mutula Jr. said that police had locked the main gate to the townhouses where Malala lives with handcuffs.
