Joho now turns to the law in battle for his gun permits
What you need to know:
- The governor said he had been a licensed gun holder for over eight years and that throughout that period, he had not faced any misuse queries to warrant a revocation.
- Police insisted he must surrender his firearms because his “temperament” made him unsuitable to be trusted with weapons.
- Police want three guns from Mr Joho — two pistols and a rifle, after Chief Licensing Officer Samuel Kimaru revoked his licences.
Embattled Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho on Monday vowed to use all legal options available to get his firearm licences back.
He maintained he would not give up his guns and said he had hired lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi to lead his legal campaign to affirm his right to keep the licences.
The governor said he had been a licensed gun holder for over eight years and that throughout that period, he had not faced any misuse queries to warrant a revocation.
Whereas the State had the authority to revoke his licences, there were laid-down procedures to be followed, he said.
“I have been in possession of the firearms in accordance with the Firearms Act since 2008. Over this period, I have complied with the provisions of the law and the conditions set out in the licence,” he said at Capitol Hill, Nairobi, where he was with his Kilifi counterpart, Mr Amason Kingi, senators James Orengo and Johnson Muthama and Embakasi South MP Irshadali Sumra.
Mr Joho spoke as police insisted he must surrender his firearms because his “temperament” made him unsuitable to be trusted with weapons.
“The order to surrender the weapons licensed to him still stands and no amount of entreaties will change our position as we are still convinced he is not of suitable temperament at the moment to be entrusted with firearms. He must, therefore, surrender as lawfully ordered,” said police spokesman George Kinoti in a statement.
Police want three guns from Mr Joho — two pistols and a rifle, after Chief Licensing Officer Samuel Kimaru revoked his licences.
Mr Joho said the law allowed him to appeal against the decision and he was doing so through his lawyers.
SCARE TACTICS
Mr Abdullahi commented in a tweet: “Joho is a law abiding citizen and has appealed to the minister against the revocation of his firearms.”
Mr Joho warned that recent threats and actions targeted at his personal security by the government were acts of persecution due to his strong political position against the Jubilee regime.
“These acts that amount to persecution, intimidation and blackmail have taken a more dramatic and scary turn after the by-elections,” he said and accused the government of reducing his security detail to cover up for the embarrassing election loss in Malindi.
Mr Joho said he was not armed during the elections and therefore, could not have misused his gun to warrant the actions against him.
He turned the heat on Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, demanding he explains “fundamental abuses” that took place during the elections, including the illegal deployment of the military.
“Military personnel complete with armoured personnel carriers were present in Malindi,” said the governor.
He accused the government of trying to militarise Malindi to scare voters ahead of the by-elections last week, saying the scheme failed when ODM’s William Mtengo beat Jubilee’s Philip Charo.
Mr Kinoti denied that the vehicles were meant to scare voters, saying: “This is simply untrue, and he knows it.”
He explained that the vehicles were enroute to terror prone Lamu County, where General Service Unit Officers are fighting the Al-Shabaab in Boni Forest.
In Malindi, they were only used to transport other officers from far-flung areas, he said.
“The crew just happened to be on overnight rest and the vehicles were used by the local command to transport officers from far flung stations to Malindi town to enhance security,” said Mr Kinoti.
He also said police would not relent on the crackdown on re-emerging criminal groups ahead of next year’s General Election.
DO NOT FLINCH
Earlier, Mr Joho held talks with Cord leader Raila Odinga at his Capitol Hill offices in Upper Hill, where he briefed him on the Malindi by-elections and his troubles with the State.
A statement from Mr Odinga’s office said the Cord leader asked him to stay firm and warned the government against resorting to intimidation after losing the Malindi seat.
Over the weekend, Mr Nkaissery warned the governor against being arrogant and told to him surrender the guns immediately.
Meanwhile, five police officers attached to the governor have been reinstated, from 15 that were recalled.
Coast Regional Commander boss Francis Wanjohi said: “They are now five, one will be his bodyguard, and two will be manning his house during the day and other two at night. We should not talk of withdrawal but what is there was rationalisation, one is not supposed to have more officers than what the law stipulates."
Separately, the Nation learnt on Monday that some of the officers withdrawn from politicians including those of Mr Joho and Mr Kingi were at the weekend paraded at a police station where a woman who was beaten and undressed by gangs during the polls last week was invited to identify her attackers.
However, she did not identify any from the group. Mr Wanjohi said no one had been arrested over the Malindi violence.
Reported by Mohamed Ahmed, Galgalo Bocha, Isaac Ongiri and Fred Mukinda
