Ni kubaya! Okoth Obados security team disarmed

Piece by: Queen Serem
Lifestyle

Firearms of five police officers guarding Migori governor Okoth Obado were at the weekend confiscated.The DCI is probing guns recovered from the county chief’s Migori home.

The AP officers were directed to hand over their guns for ballistics examination at the DCI headquarters, Kiambu Road.

The governor was arrested on Wednesday in Nairobi and detained after EACC investigators recovered firearms at his rural home.

The court on Friday released Obado on bail after dismissing an application to detain him, pending conclusion of the firearms possession investigation.

The Kibera court freed the governor on Sh500,000 bond with surety of a similar amount or Sh200,000 bail. He was ordered not to interfere with the ongoing investigations.

On Friday, detectives from the Special Crimes Prevention Unit searched Obado’s gun licence at his Lavington home.  The officers did not find the firearm licence, which the governor told investigators was at his Nairobi home.

Police want Obado’s gun licence scrutinised by the Firearm Licensing Board as part of their investigations into three guns, which were found in his Migori home.

Police have scheduled a further search at the Obado’s rural home.

Yesterday, sources told the Star, investigators have zeroed their investigations in two issues regarding the gun saga.

The police want to establish the origin of a gun, which was recovered from the Migori residence in a house occupied by the governor’s security detail.

The Ceska pistol is said to have been taken from a criminal during last year’s election period.

Investigators are also keen to establish how an AP officer attached to the governor was issued with a civilian firearm, which he was using when on duty.

The same guard also had an official government firearm - a G3.

“These, together with the governor’s firearm licence will form the bulk of the investigations,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

DCO Special Crimes Prevention chief Pius Gitari could not be reached for comment as he did not pick calls.

Obado in his statements to police said he was a licensed firearm holder. In his statements recorded at the DCI headquarters, Obado said he knew nothing about the alleged guns.

He told police some security guards used a safe in his house to keep their weapons. He said he has five AP officers guarding his Nairobi and Migori homes.

The guns incident comes weeks after the governor was released following his arrest on September 21 in connection with the murder of university student Sharon Otieno.

Sharon was pregnant with his child. Obado has denied the murder charge. In the murder case, Obado was released on a Sh5 million bond and two sureties of similar amount.