The High Court has declined to suspend the four-month prison term facing the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti.
Attorney General Kihara Kariuki filed an application seeking the suspension of the sentence and the imminent arrest of Kinoti until the hearing and determination of his application for setting aside orders jailing Kinoti.
Justice Murima ruled that AG’s application was filed a day to the lapse of the seven-day window granted for Kinoti to surrender to prison authorities with a view of starting to serve the sentence.
The application through lawyer Cecil Miller argued that Kinoti had no role in handling the firearms since the mandate falls under the Firearms Licencing Board.
“The DCI has since written to the Attorney-General instructing them to write to Mr Wanjigi’s advocates inform them to collect their firearms from the board. By doing so, the DCI has purged the contempt,” Kariuki said in court papers.
According to AG, Wanjigi lawyers failed to disclose information indicating that they were directed to collect the firearms from the board.
He argues that had the information been availed before court, Kinoti would have been absolved from the contempt of court offence.
DCI boss Kinoti is on record defending himself saying he can’t produce the firearms because they are not in his possession.
“Even if the DCI is jailed for 100 years, he cannot give Wanjigi firearms he doesn’t have,” said Kinoti.
Kinoti was found guilty for contempt of court on November 18 this year when Justice Mrima handed a four-month jail term at Kamiti Maximum Prison
He will serve his term for disobeying orders that required him to return firearms obtained from businessman Jimmy Wanjigi in 2017.
The hearing of AG Kihara’s application is scheduled for Thursday, November 25, at 11:30 am.
