Home Latest News Crime & Investigations
Category:

Crime & Investigations

Crime & Investigations

Waluke Has Been Jailed for Enjoying The Benefit of a Lawful Court Order

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Former kakamega senator Boni Khalwale has claimed that Sirisia Member of Parliament John Waluke has been jailed for enjoying the benefits of a lawful court order.

Taking to his official twitter account a day after the sentencing of the lawmaker and his co-accused, Khalwale argued that the arbitration court ordered the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to pay Waluke the Sh 297 million for breach of contract for supply of maize.

Khalwale further argues that the NCPB unsuccessfully challenged the order in both the High and Appeal Courts.

“Arbitratuon Court ordered NCPB to pay Hon Waluke Sh 297 million for breach of contract for supply of maize.NCPB unsuccessfully challenged this in both the High & Appeal Courts. Waluke has been jailed for enjoying the benefit of a lawful court order! System Ya Majambazi,” he tweeted.

Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi has also faulted the historic graft ruling in the case involving the Sirisia MP and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu.

Taking to his official twitter account on Friday morning, Havi termed Waluke and Wakhungu’s conviction as fraudulent.

According to Havi, Waluke and Grace Wakhungu contracted with the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). In this case, Havi says, NCBP breached the contract.

He says the arbitrator ordered the payment and the award was enforced by the High Court. While justifying that the accused people committed no crime, Havi noted that NCPB lost before High Court and Court of Appeal and paid the decree.

“John Waluke and Grace Wakhungu contracted with NCPB. NCBP breached the contract. Arbitrator ordered payment. Award was enforced by High Court. NCPB lost before High Court and Court of Appeal and paid the decree. How can that be a crime? Do not celebrate fraudulent convictions,” he tweeted.

Waluke and his co-accused will pay a fine of close to Sh2 billion or serve at least 39 years in prison after they were found guilty of defrauding the state agency.

While sentencing the two, Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma said the offences they committed were serious. She added that the two and their company took advantage of a dire situation in the country, as Kenya faced a drought, to defraud the NCPB.

The magistrate said there were aspects in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) that are mandatory and the court had no option but to pass sentence as prescribed in the law.

But where the court has discretion, Ms Juma said she would exercise it judiciously. On the first count of uttering a false document, the court directed Ms Wakhungu to pay a fine of Sh100,000 or serve one year in prison.

Grace Wakhungu and MP John Waluke in Court on Thursday June 25, 2020. PHOTO/COURTESY

She was further directed to pay another fine of Sh100m for purgery or serve another year in jail. 

Both the convicts and the company were directed to pay a fine of Sh626 million each or serve seven year in jail for receiving fraudulent payment from NCPB.

Waluke will pay Sh726 million for his sins. He will also shoulder Sh313 million, which is half the amount the court fined Erad Supplies & General Contractors Ltd. Waluke and and his accomplice Grace Wakhungu were co-directors of Erad.He, however, has a right of appeal.

The court also paved way for the NCPB to go after the two convicts’ assets to recoup Sh297 million that it lost.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

LSK President Terms MP Waluke’s Conviction as Fraudulent

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi has faulted the historic graft ruling in the case involving Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu.

Taking to his official twitter account on Friday morning, Havi termed Waluke and Wakhungu’s conviction as fraudulent.

According to Havi, Waluke and Grace Wakhungu contracted with the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). In this case, Havi says, NCBP breached the contract.

He says the arbitrator ordered the payment and the award was enforced by the High Court. While justifying that the accused people committed no crime, Havi noted that NCPB lost before High Court and Court of Appeal and paid the decree.

“John Waluke and Grace Wakhungu contracted with NCPB. NCBP breached the contract. Arbitrator ordered payment. Award was enforced by High Court. NCPB lost before High Court and Court of Appeal and paid the decree. How can that be a crime? Do not celebrate fraudulent convictions,” he tweeted.

Waluke and his co-accused will pay a fine of close to Sh2 billion or serve at least 39 years in prison after they were found guilty of defrauding the state agency.

While sentencing the two, Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma said the offences they committed were serious. She added that the two and their company took advantage of a dire situation in the country, as Kenya faced a drought, to defraud the NCPB.

The magistrate said there were aspects in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) that are mandatory and the court had no option but to pass sentence as prescribed in the law.

But where the court has discretion, Ms Juma said she would exercise it judiciously.  On the first count of uttering a false document, the court directed Ms Wakhungu to pay a fine of Sh100,000 or serve one year in prison. She was further directed to pay another fine of Sh100m for purgery or serve another year in jail. 

Grace Wakhungu and MP John Waluke in Court on June 25, 2020. PHOTO/COURTESY

Both the convicts and the company were directed to pay a fine of Sh626 million each or serve seven year in jail for receiving fraudulent payment from NCPB.

Waluke will pay Sh726 million for his sins. He will also shoulder Sh313 million, which is half the amount the court fined Erad Supplies & General Contractors Ltd. Waluke and and his accomplice Grace Wakhungu were co-directors of Erad.He, however, has a right of appeal.

The court also paved way for the NCPB to go after the two convicts’ assets to recoup Sh297 million that it lost.

Efforts by Waluke and Wakhungu to have the sentence suspended were thwarted by the court, which stated that it had concluded its work on the matter and any issue on its judgement could only be handled at the High Court on appeal.

The trial court said the bond terms the two have been enjoying had already been exhausted and ordered for the release of security that was used to secure their temporary release as the hearing was going on. Waluke has been out on a Sh3 million surety bond.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Forgive ‘Vulnerable’ Waluke Because he Saved Moi in 1982 Coup, Lawyer Pleads With The Court

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Lawyers representing Sirisia MP John Waluke in his sentence hearing have urged the Court to be sympathetic while sentencing the lawmaker.

Dunstan Omari, one of the lawyers representing Waluke has pleaded with the Chief Magistrate to be lenient with the former KDF soldiers, saying that he is not only a vulnerable person because of coronavirus but that he also saved the late president Daniel arap Moi in the 1982 coup.

Waluke, his lawyer said, was a career civil servant who had an impressive track record in the military where he rose from a corporal to a major in 1996, a testimony that he is a good person.

After his military career, he engaged in consultancy and road construction services in Western Kenya. He holds a degree from Mount Kenya University and a Masters from Kibabii University.

Waluke is being represented by advocates Evans Ondieki, Samson Nyamberi, Cliff Ombeta and Dunstan Omari while his co-accused Grace Wakhungu has Duncan Okubasu in her corner.

Waluke’s lawyers begged the court not to be swayed by the Sh297 million but at the amount that was in his possession.

The Sirisia MP John Waluke was on Monday June 22, 2020 found guilty by a Nairobi court, and was remanded pending his sentencing on Thursday June 25, 2020.

Waluke has been so vocal in spreading DP Ruto’s 2022 political gospel. In January 2019, the High Court declined to stop the prosecution of Waluke.

Waluke was charged with several counts of fraud alongside businessman Grace Wakhungu over a contract his company, Erad Supplies and General Contracts Ltd, won to supply 40,000 tonnes of maize in 2004.

The lawmaker and his co-accused had last filed an application seeking to block the case against them.

High Court judge Hedwig O’ngudi, however, declined to issue the orders noting that the application had not been made in a timely manner.

Last week, magistrate’s court in Nairobi extended bond terms Waluke but issued an arrest warrant for his co-accused.

The trial magistrate Elizabeth Osoro issued the arrest warrant after Grace Sarapay Wakhungu failed to turn up for the judgment.

At the same time the magistrate allowed the investigating officer in the case to verify a medical document presented before court by Wakhungu’s lawyer after a State prosecutor disputed its authenticity. 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Ruto Ally Found Guilty in Ksh 297M Scandal, Remanded Pending Sentencing

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

A key Deputy President William Ruto ally from Western Kenya has been found guilty in a Sh 297 million fraud case.

The Sirisia MP John Waluke was on Monday June 22, 2020 found guilty by a Nairobi court, and was remanded pending his sentencing on Thursday June 25, 2020.

Waluke has been so vocal in spreading DP Ruto’s 2022 political gospel. In January 2019, the High Court declined to stop the prosecution of Waluke.

Waluke is charged with several counts of fraud alongside businessman Grace Wakhungu over a contract his company, Erad Supplies and General Contracts Ltd, won to supply 40,000 tonnes of maize in 2004.

The lawmaker and his co-accused had last filed an application seeking to block the case against them.

High Court judge Hedwig O’ngudi, however, declined to issue the orders noting that the application had not been made in a timely manner.

Last week, magistrate’s court in Nairobi extended bond terms Waluke but issued an arrest warrant for his co-accused.

The trial magistrate Elizabeth Osoro issued the arrest warrant after Grace Sarapay Wakhungu failed to turn up for the judgment.

At the same time the magistrate allowed the investigating officer in the case to verify a medical document presented before court by Wakhungu’s lawyer after a State prosecutor disputed its authenticity. 

However, the magistrate deferred the judgment to today (June 22) and ordered that the accused stay in custody until that time after her arrest.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & InvestigationsPolitics

Another Senior DCI Officer in Sonko’s Dramatic Voi Arrest Rushes to Him Crying For Help

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Just a day after Nairobi County governor Mike Sonko coming to the rescue of a police officer (now retired) who was caught up on a video being roughed up bu his wife over child upkeep, another senior DCI officer who participated in his dramatic arrest in Voi last year, has reached out to him for help.

Sonko had offered to pay for the Sh300,000 child support for the Voi base commander who mishandled him during his arrest, after a video of a jilted woman confronting the police officer, accusing him of absconding parental duties went viral.

The woman, who was breathing fire, mishandled her husband like a toddler as members of the public watched, and washed his dirty linen in public, revealing how he has failed to take care of their kid.

The woman cursed her husband and said that he is not man enough because he cannot look after his own flesh and blood.

In new developments, the governor has indicated that another Senior DCI officer who was present during his arrest has reached out to him and asked for help in clearing his medical expenses.

The official has been identified as Wundayi DCI Mr Richard Cheruiyot who is said to be in a critical condition after being shot by thugs thus needs financial help in removing the bullet lodged in his kidney.

In a long Facebook post, Sonko urged Kenyans not to repay evil for evil.

He revealed that he had accepted to meet the medical expenses of the senior DCI officer, noting that he was ready to meet the expenses of the third officer who has developed kidney complications.

Below is his Facebook post.

“DO NOT REPAY ANYONE EVIL FOR EVIL.

“Romans 12:17 says: ” Do not repay anyone evil for evil or insult with insult. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.”

“In my yesterday’s Facebook post on the former Voi Base Commander who handcuffed me with two handcuffs and forcefully borded me in a police chopper during my arrest, I offered to clear the 300,000/= upkeep cost for his child.

“Today, the DCI Wundanyi a Mr. RICHARD CHERUIYOT, who was also instructed by the OCPD Voi to ensure that he handcuffs me with two handcuffs, called my Director of Communication seeking for my medical assistance in removing a bullet that is lodged around his kidney area after he was shot by thugs.I wish to confirm that I have accepted to meet the medical expenses of this senior DCI officer.

“I’m ready to meet the expenses of the third officer who has developed kidney complications. I’m not trying to mock the officers who arrested me or protest against my arrest as im not above the law but the manner in which I was forcefully bundled in a police chopper with two handcuffs from Voi airstrip to Wilson airport was not proper.

“It is against International aviation laws and regulations.

“However, I wish to confirm to the general public that I do not have any complain against all the officers involved during my arrest but I’m appealing to all our men and women in uniform who are doing a good job in protecting Kenyans and ensuring law and order is maintained to be handling unarmed suspects in a humane way during arrest as every suspect is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. May the Lord continue to bless you all.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & InvestigationsLifestyle

VIDEO: Officer Who Mishandled Sonko in Dramatic Voi Arrest Becomes Dead Beat Dad

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

A video of a jilted woman confronting her husband who is a retired police officer, accusing him of absconding parental duties remained the talk of the internet for the better part of Tuesday 16, 2020.

The woman, who was breathing fire, mishandled her husband like a toddler as members of the public watched, and washed his dirty linen in public, revealing how he has failed to take care of their kid.

The woman cursed her husband and said that he is not man enough because he cannot look after his own flesh and blood.

He desperately tried to cool her down but the woman continued causing more drama in the busy street. But did you know that the man in the video is the police officer who mishandled governor Mike Sonko during his dramatic arrest in Voi last year?

Well, governor Sonko on Wednesday morning took to his social media handles revealing that the man in the video is the same man who assaulted him at the time of his arrest.

Sonko intimated that he has forgiven the commander for the assault levelled on him during his arrest and offered to pay the child support arrears.

“The Voi Base Commander who handcuffed me becomes a dead beat dad. I do not support domestic violence. I condemn the use of violence in any relationship but pole sana my friend Mr. Mureithi the recently retired Voi Base commander who forcefully handcuffed me with two pairs of handcuffs just to board a police chopper during my arrest at Voi,” reads the post in part.

Further, he added, “My humble advice to you, if the baby the woman is alleging is really yours kindly accept the responsibility its just normal part of life and since you are now retired, I’m willing to pay for you the 300,000/= upkeep the woman has been awarded by the children’s court.”

The governor also indicated that Mureithi’s colleague who aided in his dramatic arrest is also suffering from a kidney problem and pledged to cater for his medical expenses.

“I have also been made to understand that one of your colleagues who also manhandled me has a kidney problem I’m as well willing to help in meeting his medical expenses,” wrote Sonko.

Governor Sonko was arrested in December 2019 over alleged misappropriation of Ksh357 million from county coffers.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Exposed:Fraudsters Using Uhuru’s Company Name to Con Unsuspecting Poor Kenyans

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

With Covid-19 having rendered many Kenyans jobless, with some having their businesses affected, or their source of income being cut, there is a group of fraudsters that is going around conning the unsuspecting members of the public.

The group of four has been going around convincing a section of Kenyans that that they can help them secure job slots at Kenyatta family’s Brookside Dairies Company Limited.

The group, which consists of George Iregi of phone number 0741506134, Josphat Choge of phone number 0723279309, Jadavji of phone number 0720676043 and Rufus Wanjiru of phone number 0716765987 normally pretend to be Brookside employees, telling desperate unemployed Kenyans that there are job slots at the company, and they ask for money before any deal is sealed.

A section of Kenyans have already suffered losses at the hands of the above fraudsters.

After receiving money from unsuspecting Kenyans, the fraudsters never get back to the victims. Kenyans should be vigilant not to fall victims.

1 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Brutal Police Officers Who Whipped & Dragged Woman on Motorbike in Kuresoi South Arrested

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Three police officers were on Wednesday June 10, 2020 arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following circulation of a video depicting a woman being whipped and dragged on a motorbike in Kuresoi South Sub-County.

The suspects are currently in lawful custody helping the detectives with further investigations into the matter.

The 21-year-old Mercy Cherono is nursing injuries at the Olenguruone Hospital in Kuresoi South after she was tied to a motorbike and dragged on a dirt-road by people alleged to be security officers.

In a now viral video, Ms Cherono could be heard pleading for her life as she was dragged across the dirt by a moving motorbike.

Hot at her wake was an unidentified man who rained blows on her exposed back with a horse whip. He was also wielding a Masai rungu.

Cherono is said to have been part of a three-person gang that broke into a David Kiprotich’s house when he was away.

Kiprotich is the deputy OCS at Olenguruone police station.

According to reports, the gang made away with Ksh.10,000, police uniform, a TV set and a sub-woofer.

Cherono who is believed to have been part of the gang was unable to flee during the incident and locked herself in the bathroom.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & InvestigationsPolitics

Former MP to Serve One Year Imprisonment

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

A former Member of Parliament is set to serve a one year imprisonment.

John Chege, the former Kasarani lawmaker will serve the jail term should he default a Ksh. 1.3 million fine he has been slapped by the Court.

The ex-lawmaker was on Friday May 29 fined for soliciting and receiving a bribe of Sh 100,000.

In mitigation, Chege told the court that he is remorseful and urged the Court to be lenient as he has suffered greatly.

Anti-corruption court magistrate Lawrence Mugambi said the evidence on record proved that the offence was committed.

Chege was in 2013 arraigned and charged with soliciting a bribe.

According to the charge sheet, the former legislator, while at the Continental House parking yard in Nairobi, solicited Sh100,000 from Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi as an inducement to facilitate payment of Sh3.3 million for a completed Baba Dogo Secondary School tuition block.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & InvestigationsLatest News

Kenya Announces 147 New Covid-19 Cases

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Kenya has announced 147 new positive cases of Covid-19.

This is after testing 2,831 samples, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 1,618.

Speaking at Kiambu County Headquarters while giving daily Covid-19 updates, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe told Kenyans to take all measures issued seriously.

A total of 70, 172 samples have so far been tested.

The ages of the positive cases in Kenya range from 1-87 years.

All of the new cases announced on Thursday May 28 are Kenyans, with 87 men and 60 women.

Out of the 147, Nairobi has 90 new cases, Mombasa has 41 , Kiambu has 3, Nyeri has 2, Uasin Gishu 2 , Kajiado 1, Kilifi 1, Embu 1, Murang’a 1 and Machakos 1.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
BusinessCrime & InvestigationsLatest News

Exposed: How Ruto Colluded With 2 Firms to Grab Multi-billion Hotel Land

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Details have emerged of how Deputy President William Ruto-owned Weston Hotel colluded with two firms to grab the hotel land in Lang’ata, that is now valued at billions of money.

According to Court documents filed by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), Ruto’s Weston Hotel colluded with Priority Ltd and Monene Investment Ltd to obtain the land.

In a detailed report by the Standard Newspaper, KCAA in its new case filings claim that inconsistencies in the documents produced by Weston, failure to produce any valid sale agreement and transfer instruments, and allegedly ignoring the Ndung’u report’s red flag on grabbed public properties indicated it played a part in grabbing the land.

According to KCAA, there is no consent from the Commissioner of Lands approving the alleged sale, and no stamp duty was paid to seal the purchase process.

“Other questionable circumstances show that the second respondent (Weston) was actually a party to fraud perpetrated by the third and fourth respondent (Priority and Monene) …. This court cannot defer to individual claims by land grabbers where it is proved that the title was issued to grab a public land, in this case, public land entrusted to Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) for the public to ensure safety in air navigation and incidental purposes,” the aviation authority argues in its court papers filed in the Lands Court in Nairobi.

KCAA says two development plans submitted by Weston contradict each other.It claims that although the two plans were issued on the same day, October 17, 1997, they are for different plots.It further claims the ownership record is deliberately scrambled to conceal the fraud.

KCAA further notes that Priority was still applying for permit approvals in April 2008, a year after the same land was registered in favour of Weston.

The contested property, LR No 209/14372, was registered under Weston on June 13, 2007.KCAA lawyers Otiende Amolo and Stephen Ligunya argue that Priority could not have continued to deal with the same property after its legal interest in the land ceased.

Weston, in its reply to the case, had attached a payment receipt as proof that it had paid survey fees for the contested piece of land.

However, the civil aviation agency argues that the receipt indicates that the paid amount was for an unsurveyed plot, and is a different property. 

According to the authority, its land had been previously surveyed and had a reference number .KCAA questions how Priority and Monene managed to get a survey document (a deed plan) for the contested land more than a year before they paid for the survey, a pointer to fraud.

According to the aviation authority, receipts in Weston’s replying affidavit indicate that it paid for the survey on April 30, 2002, while a deed plan number 234961 in favour of Priority and Monene is dated April 12, 2001.

In a fresh twist to the case, KCAA says Priority and Monene illegally got an allotment for 0.7 hectares of the land, but in their final survey document, the piece mysteriously increased to 0.7733Ha.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

K24 Journalist Commits Suicide

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

A journalist working for mediamax has commited suicide in Nakuru citing the hard life that has been caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The body of the K24 journalist, George Kori , based in Molo was on Sunday May 24, 2020 found dangling on a tree at Gatura Farm in Elburgon.

Cash-strapped K24 has majorly cut on its human resource, firing journalists and news presenters citing financial difficulties with ongoing court cases of presenters protesting a move to cut on their salaries.

K24 television which is a major part of the Media Max company is now being handed a lifeline by Kenya’s KTN news that would see it be able to easily operate without a bulky human resource which will enable the company to cut on cost.

The lifeline being presented by KTN news is expected to be available to other media stations and partners and is expected to enable media houses to cut on the cost of content production.

K24 currently operates only with a handful of content providers after recurring job cuts which has already seen it suffer bad blood from the ex-employees in the manner it goes around firing.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Husband From Hell Who Sprayed Pepper, Salt & Super Glue in Wife’s Private Parts Arrested

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

A man who allegedly stuffed pepper, salt and super glue into his wife’s private parts has finally been arrested.

The 30-Year-Old James Kifo Muriuki, who on 16th May, 2020 horridly dehumanized his wife, has this morning been arrested from his hideout at Kaningo in Kitui County by a combined team of DCI detectives from Special Crime Unit, DCI Tseikuru and DCI Tharaka South.

According to police report under OB4/17/5/2020 filed by the victim Charity Wairimu, James Muriuki travelled from Nairobi to Marimanti in Tharaka, it appears the man was suspecting his wife was cheating on him.

On reaching home, Muriuki is said to have ordered his wife to go to River Kathita, and then instructed her to remove all her clothes so that she may tell him about all the men she has been sleeping with while he was in Nairobi.

“The arrest followed a shocking report made by the complainant, his wife, on how the suspect lured her in the dead of the night to river Kathita whereby he ordered her to strip naked and tell him all the men she had slept with while he was in Nairobi,” reads a statement posted by DCI.

On being hesitant, the victim was beaten by the suspect who also sprayed pepper, salt and super glue on her genitalia and later used a knife to push the said contents to her lady parts. Further, it was reported that he sealed her mouth and ears and left her for dead.

The suspect will be charged accordingly once necessary police procedure is complete.

It is yet to be known how Muriuki was able to circumvent through the police roadblocks that have been erected, after government ordered the cessation of movement of people into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan area, as a measure of curbing COVID-19.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

Echesa Uses Coronavirus to Get His Impounded High-end Car Back

by Brian Miano
written by Brian Miano

Former sports minister Rashid Echesa is now using coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to get his impounded high-end cars back.

Echesa has asked a Nairobi court to order the release of his Range Rover so as to allow him make necessary travels.

Echesa, through his lawyer Bryan Khaemba, told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate that ever since his vehicle was confiscated on March 2, 2020, he has been forced to use public transport.

On March 11, 2020, Echesa filed an application in court seeking to have his vehicle, a Range Rover model of registration plate KCR 786H, returned to him.

And now, Khaemba has gone back to court on his client’s behalf; this time around, arguing Echesa could catch coronavirus – “which is life-threatening” — should he continue using public transport.

In the March 11 application, Echesa also urged the court to instruct the DCI to release his two pistols, arguing that being a former Cabinet minister, his life can be on the line, and, therefore, he needs the guns to enhance his security.

He wanted the firearms — a Beretta 92 and a Ceska pistol — released pending the hearing and determination of his case.

Also confiscated, Echesa claimed, were his 104 9mm rounds of ammunition, three gun holsters and a Ceska magazine.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

New Twist in Bungoma Jerrycan Scandal as EACC Digs Deeper, MCAs Summoned

by Pauline Waswa
written by Pauline Waswa

Bungoma MCAs have been summoned by the Bungoma EACC detectives to give their side of the story over the alleged squandering of money meant to help curb the Covid 19 pandemic.

It is now being alleged that the MCAs received irregular allowances from the jerrycan scandal amounting to Ksh 2 million.

The money which was allegedly given as a donation from the World Health Organization(WHO) is said to have been shared among the MCAs to go slow on the scandal.

Twelve MCAs were on May 13, interrogated and the exercise is set to continue.

According to a Ford Kenya MCA who sort anonymity, the allowances came from the World Health Organization for the purpose of training and sensitizing the public on how to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We were duped to sign for the money knowing that it was the money meant to sensitize on Covid 19,”said the Ford Kenya MCA.

Bungoma county government officials adversely mentioned in the scandal have also been summoned by the EACC together with the six MCAs who did not take illegal allowances to explain what they know about the scandal.

The MCAs who refused to take the allowance are the members of the county assembly health committee who had vowed to investigate the issue and recommend for prosecution of the perpetrators.

The MCAs had asked Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati to clear himself after admitting in one local vernacular station during an interview that indeed money had been misappropriated, by taking legal action against the county officials who had taken part in the embezzlement of funds

The County chief has hence asked the county assembly to cooperate and investigate the matter to the later.

The chairman of the health committee Makari said that there was enough evidence to show that Ksh 11.9 million had been taken from Webuye and Bungoma referral hospital illegally and misappropriated by senior county officials.

Wangamati had earlier on twisted the claims saying that the alleged purchase  600 20-litre jerrycans at Ksh 10,000 each was false peddled by his detractors to undermine his government and efforts.

The chairman of the health committee George Makari, who is the MCA Musikoma ward, vowed to investigate the scandal.

However, anti-riot police chased them away from the county assembly premises where they had planned to carry out their investigation.

County government officials who included Health CEC Antony Walela, his chief officer Patrick Wandela and Bungoma county referral hospital medical superintendent David Kunikina had been summoned before the committee.

Others adversely mentioned include the director for special programs Caro Buyela and the acting chief officer for finance.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Crime & Investigations

14-Year-Old Arrested in Connection With Murder of 62-Year-Old Veteran Journalist

by Pauline Waswa
written by Pauline Waswa

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Monday May 11, arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection with the murder of a 62-year-old Mohammed Hassan, a veteran journalist who worked at Pamoja FM in Kibra, Nairobi.

The juvenile was positively identified after analysis of IC3 CCTV footage. In a group of four others, the suspect accosted the deceased who was heading to his place after duty at the said radio station, violently robbed him in which process they stabbed him on the left side of the chest killing him instantly.

His body was discovered lying on the road at Makina near Kibera Law Courts in the wee hours of May 4, 2020 not long before enraged members of the public subjected one suspect to mob injustice.

According to a statement posted by DCI after making the arrest, the detectives are still pursuing the other three suspects and a woman believed to have been harbouring them, as the juvenile awaits arraignment.

Mohammed Hassan met his death on his way from work after hosting a special Ramadhan show. On the day he lost his life, Kibra residents accused the police of laxity particularly during the dusk to dawn curfew.

The murder of the journalist came a day after journalists commemorated World Press Freedom Day.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTumblrWhatsappTelegramEmail
Load More Posts