Left: Nairobi businessman Jimi Wanjigi. Right: The house in Malindi where police found a cache of arms on October 16, 2017. [Photos/ Nairobi News]
As we approach the October 26 fresh presidential election, NASA boss Raila Odinga and his supporters have insisted that there will be no election, leaving Kenyans to speculate on what the violent protestors will do to stop the constitutional exercise. IEBC is obeying the Supreme Court orders in conducting the elections within 60 days since the nullification of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s August general election victory, and any move to stop the polls will amount to breaking the elections law. The police, whose main work is to maintain law and order, have a noble task of ensuring that the fresh elections are held without any disruptions in all polling stations in the county. With no clear idea on how NASA supporters plan to stop the polls, the law enforcement officers have not ruled out illegal use of weapons by followers of Raila. That is why the police searched the Malindi and Nairobi homes of top NASA financier Jimi Wanjigi, who is said to have spent billions of shillings on the candidature of ODM leader Raila Odinga. What the police found is baffling: five heavy firearms, 93 rounds of ammunition and a wildlife trophy in the Malindi house belonging to the Nairobi businessman, who has been accused of being part of the cartels behind huge corrupt deals in the country. Ordinary citizens are not licensed to possess such powerful weapons. After the coastal raid, the detectives moved Wanjigi’s home in Muthaiga area of Nairobi. The businessman locked the officers out, forcing them to spend the night in the cold. Why not allow the officers conduct their searches if he has nothing to hide? Soon after Wanjigi rushed to court to stop the officers from arresting him over the illegal guns and other illegal activities he may have been involved in. This move clearly shows that there is a lot the businessman wants hidden about his operations. He does not look like someone doing clean business. Being a prominent NASA supporter, there is a chance the illegal guns hidden in the homes of Wanjigi can be used to harm other Kenyans during the election day or scare away IEBC officials from presiding over a free and fair exercise. Already, IEBC is having challenges recruiting clerks, presiding officers and their deputies in some parts of Luo Nyanza, a stronghold of Raila Odinga. The law enforcement officers must continue to pursue and question any Kenyan who poses danger to the October 26 polls.