By Mumbi Mutuko,
NAIROBI Kenya
The High Court sitting in Nairobi has sentenced the Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss, George Kinoti (pictured), to a four-month jail term at the Kamiti Maximum Prison.
Justice Anthony Mrima sentenced Kinoti on
Thursday, November 18, for
contempt of court.
Kinoti was sent to prison after the court found
him guilty of contempt after failing to return a firearm confiscated from
businessman and presidential hopeful Jimi Wanjigi.
The Judge ordered Kinoti to surrender to prison
authorities within seven days to commence his sentence.
Justice Mrima also issued arrest
warrants against the DCI boss and directed the Inspector General of
Police to enforce them.
The sentencing comes after Kinoti failed
to present himself in person on Monday, September 27, 2021, in court following
a summons by the judge.
Justice Anthony Mrima, who was presiding over
the case, ruled that Kinoti was guilty of contempt of court.
Following the disobedience of these court
orders, Justice Mrima directed the DCI to appear at the High Court on November
18, 2021, for sentencing.
The case involves seven guns confiscated from
Wanjigi's home. In 2019 the High Court ordered the state to return Wanjigi’s
firearms to him.
But the firearms were never returned to the
businessman. In February 2021, the court gave further orders for the DCI to
ensure the mogul got his guns back but the orders were ignored.
In 2019, Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that the
government acted unreasonably by taking away Wanjigi's firearms since he had a
valid license.
“The plaintiff’s rights were violated by the
respondents. The actions of the respondents were unlawful and actuated by
malice. The court grants orders that all firearms be returned to the
plaintiff,” Justice Mwita ruled.
Wanjigi told the court that the police
raided his house without a search warrant and took his firearms.
He further argued that there was no proof of
misuse of the guns nor had he been charged in any court for crimes.
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