Activist seeks to have Jimi Wanjigi gun licence revoked

Presidential hopeful Jimi Wanjigi addresses the press at Mash Park Hotel in Kisii County on September 17, 2021 [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Controversy surrounding businessman Jimi Wanjigi’s seized guns took a twist after an activist filed a petition to revoke his firearms licence.

Memba Ocharo, in his urgent application filed at the High Court in Nairobi, wants the Firearms Licensing Board ordered to withdraw the licence they issued to Wanjigi.

Ocharo says the confiscated firearms should not be returned to Wanjigi on claims that he had been misusing them to intimidate the public.

Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the activist claimed Wanjigi had previously been ordered to surrender his firearms and ammunition following numerous incidents of reported misuse which makes him unsuitable to have the license.

“It will be irresponsible for the Firearms Licensing Board to release the guns to Wanjigi when it is in public knowledge that he is a dangerous arms and ammunition wielding individual who has been in possession of the illegal weapons,” said Omari.

The petition brought a new angle to the row that led to the four-months jail sentence handed to DCI boss George Kinoti for refusing to return the guns taken from the businessman in October 2017.