MP wants Government to intervene on Wanjala and Akinyi’s behalf

By Roselyne Obala

The Budalang’i MP wants the Government to make an effort to have a former minister arrested in India returned.

Mr Ababu Namwamba, yesterday urged the Government to consult with Indian authorities on former Assistant minister Raphael Wanjala’s fate.

"I have pleaded Wanjala’s case with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Moses Wetangula and I hope the Government will be in a position to intervene

"The Government should offer any necessary assistance to the former Assistant Minister and his woman friend because they are Kenyan citizens," said Ababu, who ousted Wanjala in the last General Election.

Wanjala and Ms Joyce Akinyi, the woman at the centre of a divorce and property wrangle with her Nigerian husband, were arrested in New Delhi, India last week. Namwamba said he held talks with the minister to ensure their safe return.

He argued that despite the magnitude of the offence, the two should be tried in their own country.

Budalang’i residents said they were concerned with the conduct of the former MP.

"Why is he going around with a married woman yet he has two wives? Although we appeal to the Government to help him, he is letting us down as a community," said Mr Corneli Sebe, a resident.

However, family members at Wanjala’s rural home in Budalang’i remained tight-lipped over his fate.

They declined to talk to The Standard team, which visited the home.