Ex-MP pursues top police officers, rivals ‘who cooked up’ murder case against him

Kenya: A former MP has threatened to sue senior police officers and a politician for framing him with conspiracy tomurder.

Immediate former Gatundu North MP Clement Waibara is now contemplating instituting legal proceedings against four senior police officers from Central Kenya, including a retired one, for allegedly cooking up a case against him.

Mr Waibara, who was MP between 2007 and 2013, was acquitted this week of charges of conspiring to murder Benard Chege Mburu, his main opponent in the 2007 general election.

The case blighted much of his parliamentary term and he now claims that it greatly contributed to his failure to recapture his seat in last year’s general election.

Waibara also accuses former area MP Patrick Muiruri of colluding with the four police officers to fix him and is now seeking to sue him as well.

The former MP, who now runs a micro-finance agency in Kiambu County, is pleased with the acquittal, but would have been more comfortable had he been acquitted much earlier.

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“We are planning to go to court to seek that individuals who conspired to have me prosecuted and witnesses who perjured be prosecuted,” Waibara said on Thursday.

The one term MP had denied conspiring with others to murder Mr Mburu - who petitioned his 2007 election - on diverse dates between April 1, 2010, and March 31, 2011 in Thika town.

Conspiracy?

He now wants the High Court to state that he initially did not have a case to answer at all and to take action on witnesses who he claims conspired to take him through an expensive criminal prosecution. Among those he will seek to be prosecuted is Mburu, who was the key witness and complainant in the case.

Waibara said he will seek the prosecution of four police officers, including two former provincial detachment commanders in Central Province.

These are disgraced former Central Provincial Police Officer (PPO) John M’Mbijjiwe, former Provincial Criminal Investigations (PCIO) Officer Henry Ondiek and Senior Superintendent Seif Mbaruk of the PCIO’s office who investigated the case.

Others he claims were part of the conspiracy were former Karatina OCS Kennedy Rucho and his (Waibara’s) former bodyguard John Kabeca, who now works at the Kenya Police College.

The former MP was speaking after Nyeri Senior Resident Magistrate Joan Wambilyanga set him free of charges of conspiring with others to murder Mburu, a tyre dealer in Thika, who is closely associated with former Gatundu North MP Patrick Kariuki Muiruri. Muiruri represented the area between 1997-2007.

Waibara is also seeking the prosecution of the abrasive Muiruri for involvement in the conspiracy to prosecute him. But Mburu also said he was not happy with the ruling and is considering his next steps.

The prosecution claimed Waibara had hatched a plot to kill Mburu after the later declined to drop a petition which had challenged the former’s 2007 win.

In the election petition, Justice Fred Ochieng’ declared the seat vacant but the Court of Appeal reinstated Waibara, saying the trial judge failed to address his collective mind to the nature of the evidence while nullifying the election.

Acquitting the former MP of conspiracy to murder charges, the magistrate said the evidence provided by the prosecution was not enough to secure a conviction. “What comes out is that there was a grudge between the accused and the complainant borne out of the 2007 elections which led to a petition,” said the magistrate.

She also took a swipe at the prosecution for failing to prove there was conspiracy, agreeing with the ex-MP’s defence that “one could not possibly conspire alone.”

The magistrate observed that the prosecution abandoned all evidence that could have assisted the court.

“The prosecution case was weak, has gaps and benefit of doubt is given to the accused,” said the magistrate, bringing to a closure a prosecution that had so much tormented the ex-MP. Seven prosecution and three from the defence side testified in the case.

Manipulated probe

It transpired during the criminal case that the initial statements were recorded by SSP Mbaruk at the home of PK Muiruri and inducements were allegedly offered. The magistrate observed that Mbaruk failed to prove that he had recorded his statement from Mwea Police Post which, quite ironically, is inside the compound of a piece of land Mr Muiruri owns near Gatukuyu market.

The former MP donated the piece of land for the construction of the police post and until today they share the same gate. Waibara’s defence had claimed that senior police officers in Central Province manipulated investigations and that a senior police officer received Sh106,000 (fuel reimbursement) from the former MP.

“The former PPO should be called to explain why police decided to charge the MP 168km from the scene of the alleged offence when there is a competent Chief Magistrate’s court in Thika,” argued defence lawyer Evans Ondieki.

Courtesy of the case, Waibara who was elected in 2207 on the strength of his youth and grassroots connections, especially with women groups, will be remembered as the MP who never had peace in his five-year term.

He proceeded to the 2013 elections with the baggage of the case at the Nyeri magistrate’s court and lost badly to Kigo Njenga. “The case was a major determinant of my performance. I had to drive to Nyeri every two weeks and retain a lawyer throughout my parliamentary tenure,” he said.

Waibara won the 2007 election against Muiruri, a former assistant minister, by employing an intelligent campaign strategy that involved distribution of thousands of blankets, mostly to women.

While Muiruri was in his 60s, Waibara, 36, represented the face of a younger generation complete with a well kept hair and long nails. His election symbol of a toddler reasonated with women voters, many who could be seen all over the constituency swinging their hands as they would a toddler.