Kinoti wants Malala charged for ‘lying’ in a***********n claim
Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti, yesterday rebutted Senator Cleophas Malala’s assassination claims and recommended that he be charged with giving false information.
The Kakamega Senator had sensationally claimed that a squad from the DCI’s Special Services Unit, had been formed to assassinate him over his stand on the controversial revenue sharing formula.
Appearing before a joint Senate committee, Kinoti termed the allegations made by the senator on the floor of the House as malicious, false and ill intended.
Stormed
“We urge this committee to order that the author of these allegations be charged with the offence of giving false information,” Kinoti said.
If convicted for the offence of giving false information, the Senator risks a jail term of three years.
Malala, who is also the Senate deputy minority leader alleged that the “five members of the squad of assassin policemen” code named “Bravo Zulu Yankee,” held several meetings at DCI headquarters executive lounge and on at least two occasions at Hotel La Mada off Thika Road.
The DCI boss said following the allegations, the DCI began an inquiry -file number 154/2020.
He said that though Malala claimed he had been trailed, he could not give specific dates and places.
Kinoti added that detectives visited La Mada Hotel and were furnished with entry and exit register for the last three months and were also allowed to assess CCTV footage capturing motor vehicles in question.
However, the alleged vehicles were not captured and the conferences and booking registers did not capture any such meetings.
Interestingly, the DCI said one of the officers whose name appears in the list of the alleged assassins-David Gutea Ingutia, was stationed at Thika Police Station and was currently attached to Kenya Power.
“The officer has never served at the DCI. He hails from Kakamega County where Malala is the Senator,” Kinoti said adding that the officer’s phone number was obtained and investigation show he was never at the DCI headquarters nor at the La Mada Hotel.
In the same breath, the DCI submitted that any legislator who shall give information, established to be fictitious, false and malicious should be reprimanded.
However, members of the joint committee said they didn’t expect any other outcome as the suspects were investigating themselves.
“The complexity of this investigation is that the accused people are the police service, and it is the same service we are trying to rely on to give us information, to enable us unravel the mystery about this story, and it would be foolish of the police service to give us information that will be self-incriminating, it will be unfair to expect that,” Meru Senator Mithika Linturi noted.
But Kinoti and Inspector General Hillary Mutyambai rejected allegations they could be involved in a cover up, over arrest of three Senators on the eve of voting for a third basis revenue sharing formula.
Malala, alongside Samburu’s Steve Lelengwe and Bomet’s Christopher Langat were arrested but not charged.
