MP records statement as two defy police order

Nominated MP Maison Leshomo on Friday recorded a statement with police in connection with the massacre of over 40 police officers in Baragoi, as assistant minister Josphat Nanok defied orders to do so.

Ms Leshomo arrived at Criminal Investigation Department headquarters in Nairobi accompanied by her lawyer, Gender minister Naomi Shaban and nominated MPs Rachel Shebesh and Amina Abdalla at 1pm and left two hours later.

“I was summoned in the morning to appear before CID investigators to record a statement on the incident and since I have nothing to hide on the saga, I decided to heed the call,” Ms Leshomo told journalists.
Could not respond

Lawyer Alice Wahome said her client had been summoned to record a statement on what she knew about the killings and emphasised that the MP “was not a suspect”.

Dr Shaban said they accompanied Ms Leshomo to express their solidarity due to her role as a peacemaker in the region.

Earlier, Mr Nanok had told journalist at Parliament buildings that he could not respond to “verbal summons to record a statement”.

He said he consulted his lawyer, who advised him not to do so.

“I find this verbal summons in the middle of the night following the press conference that MPs John Munyes, Ekwee Ethuro and I had held earlier as bordering on threats and intimation,” he said.

Mr Ethuro (Turkana Central) also rubbished the summons to record a statement on their remarks over the deployment of the military to hunt down the bandits.

Immediately withdraw

Speaking at Namukuse in his constituency, the MP asked the government to immediately withdraw KDF soldiers who have camped in Lodwar, saying the area had nothing to do with the attacks.

“This operation is targeting the Turakanas and we will not take it lying down,” he said during the handover of a Sh19 million water project funded by the Dutch Government through Unicef.

His comments came as a group of youth has supported the deployment of the army to Baragoi and condemned the MPs’ remarks.

The Young Kenyan Patriots drawn from all the 47 counties called on the government to investigate the MPs’ remarks.

“Their remarks show that they could be having more information regarding the incident and in the meantime the two ministers should step aside and allow impartial investigations,” said the group’s national Chairman Mark Maina.