Witness tells of fatal shot by MP’s aide
A second witness in the murder case against Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa yesterday told a Mombasa court that he saw her bodyguard open fire on a crowd that had gathered at the home of Michael Ngumbao, who was shot dead that day.
Joseph Kabwere, who was testifying before Mombasa High Court Judge Anne Ong’injo, said he saw the bodyguard, Godfrey Otieno, who is charged alongside Jumwa, draw his gun and aim at the crowd.
October 15 shooting
But he could not confirm if the bodyguard, whom he referred to as “Jeff”, was aiming at Ngumbao. Chaos ensued during the shooting on October 15, 2019.
The witness said that before the MP and her team arrived at Reuben Katana’s homestead, there was tension following the arrival of two police cars carrying heavily armed officers, forcing the crowd to flee.
“Aisha’s bodyguard, whom I have known as Jeff, upon seeing Sunday (the deceased) who was from ODM, drew out his gun and started chasing him in Katana’s compound,” Kabwere told the court.
During the ensuing commotion, he saw a police officer known as Kosgei and his juniors shoot in the air, trying to quell the situation.
The court was forced to step down the would-be third witness following discrepancies in the evidence tabled by the prosecution. “I agree with the defence counsel that the report on reconstruction of the scene-of-crime report, which was documented four days after the scene, has some evidence which was not disclosed. The court hereby issues orders to have the witness stood down and the matter adjourned to allow the prosecution to supply the defence with the new evidence,” she ruled.
The defence team comprising Danstan Omari, Jared Magolo and Shadrack Wambui opposed the move by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Vivian Kambaga to introduce new evidence by officer Sikukuu Mayumbe, terming it forgery and manufactured.
