Tycoon Wanjigi to appear in court after arrest drama
Businessman Jimi Wanjigi yesterday tasted the two stark opposite sides of life in Nairobi. From his posh air conditioned offices at Kwacha House in Nairobi’s affluent Westlands neighbourhood to the stuffy, stinking cells of Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi’s downturn neighbourhood of Gikomba; Wanjigi saw it all.
The suave tycoon was driven to Kamukunji under a heavy police escort drawn for the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU). But even as he was arrested, Wanjigi remained defiant – something he has done most of his public life.
He claimed it is political persecution and apart from the courts, God will fight his battles. There was a twist after two court orders were issued on the incident.
The first one, issued by Milimani Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi, on the arrest of Wanjigi and the second one issued by Justice Antony Mrima restraining the Inspector General (IG) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from arresting the businessman.
Spend the night However, DCI boss George Kinoti said he was not part of those restrained from executing the arrest. He said orders were only directed to the first and second respondents who are the DPP and IG.
“Please read the orders clearly. The judge did not restrain the DCI from arresting or presenting to court the suspect. The order has three respondents but only two IG and DPP have been restrained. So as DCI, we are free to proceed with our work,” Kinoti told People Daily.
Acting on the strength of the arrest war rant, the detectives from the DCI stormed Wanjigi’s private offices at Kwacha House, at the junction of Ring Road Westlands and General Mathenge Road at around 9pm on Monday, after a stand-off lasting almost 20 hours, the officers managed to locate the bunker where the businessman was holed up before breaking into it and pulling him out.
The detectives frog-marched him from the bunker, located on the basement of the office block, and bundled him into one of their vehicles before driving him to Kamukunji Police Station where he was set to spend the night, awaiting his day in court this morning.
Detectives from the DCI’s Serious Crime Unit (SCU) accompanied by the tactical team from the ATPU, led by the Director of Investigations Bureau John Gachomo, assumed it would be a walk in the park to arrest Wanjingi.
Tactical operations However, the mission developed into a prolonged and barricaded event, where they tried a number of tactical operations to get him, but in vain. Wanjigi had moved to one of the reinforced bunker-like rooms within the building, from where he monitored all that was happening within his compound and from where he addressed the media.
Shortly after the officers stormed the offices, Wanjigi shared images of the officers, some dressed in combat gear while others in civilian clothing, that were captured within the compound.
The businessman is charged with land fraud and forgery, something he said y was a fabrication. “It is the plot my wife bought that people tried to take from us on General Mathenge Road; the same plot that we complained in 2018 that fraudsters were taking away from us. Suddenly we are the culprits,” he said.
“There is a previous police report from the same DCI that is lodged in court that charges the culprits. So you wonder what are these things that are coming up all of a sudden. It is purely persecution; these are lies about crimes we know nothing about. The DCI has no right to put anyone in handcuffs,” said the businessman at Kamukunji Police Station.
Wanjigi never hesitated to point fingers at the government, which he accused of using the DCI boss George Kinoti to settle personal scores after he declared his candidature. The businessman also insinuated that ODM leader Raila Odinga was behind the woes bedeviling him.
“Why are they so uncomfortable with my candidature? Let them just come out and say it. Uhuru Kenyatta just come out and say it. And to imagine that my friend Raila Amolo Odinga whom I was almost killed for, is sitting with him (Uhuru) somewhere probably enjoying this spectacle is the saddest thing of all,” said Wanjigi.
Wanjigi said Kinoti was being used by the state to intimidate him. Gave greenlight “He can be as petty as he wants. Right now, the DCI is a convict; he has no right to put someone in handcuffs. He was convicted last year. He is the one who should be in Kamiti. He is a part of it but not the whole of it. This has got to do with elections. I am making the election very uncomfortable for some people,” Wanjigi said.
According to the DCI headquarters, the businessman was wanted over a case of fraud and forgery, and sources told People Daily that he was to be arrested last week. After the standoff that lasted almost the whole day, police managed to obtain a warrant of arrest from court.
At around the same time, Wanjigi also obtained orders from the High Court restraining the Inspector General of Police and the DPP from instituting, arresting, preferring, registering or continuing criminal charges against him. Coincidentally, the restraining orders were issued by Justice Mrima, who had in November sentenced Kinoti to four months in Kamiti Prison for contempt of court after failing to surrender guns belonging to Wanjigi.
Ochoi had yesterday afternoon issued a warrant against Wanjigi and also summoned his wife Irene Nzisa, Himanshu Dodhia alias Velji Premchard, Kaneez Noorani, Mohammed Hussein among others to appear in court and answer the charges of conspiring to forge a title deed.
The investigating officer, Chief Inspector Patrick Maloba, had sought to have the warrants, stating that they had tried to arrest the suspects since January 5, when the DPP gave the greenlight to have them prosecuted, but in vain. “Efforts to reach them on phone never bore fruits as they have all switched them off after they got informed of their intended prosecution,” Maloba said.
In a brief ruling, Ochoi noted that the other accused persons might not have been aware that they are required in court. Uniformed officers “I will therefore not issue a warrant of arrest against the six accused persons but will issue summons for them to appear in court save for the seventh accused person (Wanjigi) whom the investigating officer says tried to confront him with a view to arresting him,” Ochoi ordered.
On December 10 last year, the DCI’s Land Fraud Investigations Unit, through Kinoti forwarded an inquiry file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
They had recommended that Wanjigi, his wife and three other people be charged with obtaining Sh56 million by false pretenses and conspiracy to defraud involving a parcel of land located in Westlands currently worth about Sh1.2 billion.
According to the DCI, the couple, John Nyanjua Njenga and Caroline Njoki, and an advocate were to be charged with obtaining Sh56 million from Kenroid Limited by falsely pretending that they were in a position to sell a piece of land measuring 0.3314 hectares on Gen Mathenge Road.
Yesterday morning, Wanjigi’s supporters stormed the offices and at one point even forced the gate open. Additional uniformed officers were deployed and they dispersed the crowd using tear gas.
Speaking from the bunker yesterday afternoon, Wanjigi said Raila had betrayed him, terming the March 2018 Handshake a personal one and not a political solution.
“We took Raila to be sworn in because we believed he was the winner. He, however, betrayed us, and people like Miguna are still outside the country,” he said.
