Police want to quiz Wetang'ula over Juma murder claim
What you need to know:
The Senate minority leader had said he would name the people who were after Mr Juma’s life.
Mr Wetang’ula had claimed that Mr Juma had three weeks ago told him of how some people he knew were plotting to assassinate him.
He said Mr Juma had tweeted a lot about persons he believed were after his life.
Before he was shot dead, the businessman had sensationally claimed on social media that there was a plot to assassinate him.
Police have asked Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula to give them the information he claims to have on last week’s murder of controversial businessman Jacob Juma.
The Senate minority leader had said he would name the people who were after Mr Juma’s life.
He had said that he would name them during the businessman’s burial scheduled for this weekend.
He made the claims at a funeral in Matunda.
The Ford-Kenya party leader said he had been in close contact with Mr Juma three weeks before he was gunned down in Nairobi on Thursday night while driving home.
Police on Tuesday said they found two spent cartridges at the scene of the killing.
According to the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Ndegwa Muhoro, Mr Juma was shot using an AK-47 rifle.
On Wednesday, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said any person with credible information about Mr Juma’s killing should provide it to the police.
“We expect Mr Wetang’ula, being a long-standing (sic) lawyer and having had distinguished service in high ranking positions in government, to discern credible facts from ordinary hearsay and therefore inform the police as soon as possible for appropriate action,” Mr Boinnet said in a statement to newsrooms.
Mr Wetang’ula had claimed that Mr Juma had three weeks ago told him about how some people he knew were plotting to assassinate him.
In his statement, Mr Boinnet said: “There has been a great deal of media speculation regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder that include clearly unfounded accusations being made by some politicians to the effect that some police units were involved in the murder.”
The bullet-riddled car belonging to businessman Jacob Juma, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen on May 5, 2016. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Mr Boinnet, who sent his condolences to the family of the murdered businessman, said the National Police Service would not make any exceptions in the investigations and that investigators would follow diligent procedures as prescribed by the law.
On Wednesday, Mr Wetang’ula told the Nation that Mr Boinnet had misinterpreted his statements.
“Mr Boinnet is being irresponsible. He did not understand what I said. I said that Jacob Juma met me and told me that there were people who were after his life. That is why I have not gone around throwing names that so and so killed Juma because I wasn’t there,” he said.
“All we are saying is that Jacob Juma named a number of persons as being behind a plot to kill him. We are saying that these are people of interest in Jacob Juma’s death and should be investigated.”
He said Mr Juma had tweeted a lot about people he believed were after his life.
“So we are asking police to follow these leads because there could be something in them. We want police to investigate this case with an open mind and conduct an investigation that meets the highest standards,” he said. However, he also said that he would not be intimidated by Mr Boinnet.
He said it was the police boss’s job to find out who killed Mr Juma and apprehend them.
“By now, the government should have given an update on Juma’s murder instead of leaving speculations, rumours and innuendo to take charge. Now they are turning to intimidation,” said the Ford-K leader and Cord co-principal.
“Robbers don’t have to shoot somebody 12 times, because they will need those bullets elsewhere to kill 12 other people. Facts are facts and like they say, you cannot hide them.”
The bullet-riddled car belonging to businessman Jacob Juma, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen on May 5, 2016. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
ASSASSINATE HIM
Before he was shot dead, the businessman had sensationally claimed on social media that there was a plot to assassinate him.
On Friday, Cord leader Raila Odinga claimed that police officers from the Flying Squad assassinated Mr Juma. According to him, the businessman was killed for exposing details about the $2.2 billion Eurobond scandal and for speaking out against corruption in government.
“He had a lot of information about the Eurobond — who and how that money was moved, how it was stolen and who was responsible — and we think that he was a victim of the Eurobond scam,” he said after viewing Mr Juma’s body at the Lee Funeral Home.
On Wednesday, Michael Juma, a brother of the deceased, said a funeral service would be held Thursday at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi before the body is moved to Uhuru Park for public viewing.
The businessman's family is yet to make any comments on his killing.
