Court Declines to Set Aside DCI George Kinoti's Prison Sentence

Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti has suffered a blow after the High Court declined to set aside his prison sentence.

Kinoti was handed a four-month sentence at Kamiti Maximum Prison for contempt of court after failing to comply with a court order to return firearms seized from businessman Jimi Wanjigi in 2017.

In a ruling on November 18th, High Court judge Anthony Mrima directed the DCI director to surrender to the prison within seven days, failure to which the Directorate of Public Prosecutions would issue an arrest warrant against him.  

Through his lawyer, Kinoti filed an application seeking to have the sentence set aside, arguing that the charges of contempt against him were invalid since the Firearms Licensing Board is the custodian of firearms He averred that Wanjigi maliciously failed to disclose to the court material facts, saying the judge would have arrived at a different decision if he did so.

But in a ruling on Monday, Justice Mrima said there was no evidence to show that Kinoti surrendered the firearms to the board, adding that the order issued on November 18th remains in force.

"All government communication are in writing, but in this particular case, there was no evidence produced to confirm the manner or the date in which the petitioner transmitted the firearms to the board."

"Lack of that shows the firearms are still in his custody. This application is dismissed and orders I made November 18th continue to be in force," the judge ruled.