Court Hands Four-Year Prison Sentence to Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi

A Mombasa court on Thursday handed Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi a four-year prison term after he was convicted of assaulting two police officers.

In his ruling, Mombasa Chief Magistrate Evans Makori sentenced Mwinyi to four years in prison or pay Sh1 million fine for the assault that happened during the 2017 Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party primaries.

Mwinyi was facing 11 charges but nine were dismissed by the court for lack of sufficient evidence. However, the ODM MP was found guilty of two counts of assaulting two officers in April, 2017.

Magistrate Makori ruled that the prosecution proved the charges against Mwinyi beyond reasonable doubt. 

"Having carefully considered the evidence by the prosecution, I find the accused guilty as charged. It is clear the accused failed to restrain or stop his supporters from disrupting the polls therefore he is deemed to have participated in the fracas," he said.

Each of the two counts attracted a fine of Sh 500,000. The judge said a medical examination carried out on the two police officers confirmed they were badly injured during the attack.

Mwinyi and his supporters assaulted constables Dennis Nambisia and Agapio Ndwiga. The two were among officers providing security to voters and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials during the exercise.