The National Police Service (NPS) has addressed an incident where a contingent of police officers on Thursday, August 8, raided the home of politician and businessman Jimi Wanjigi in Muthaiga, Nairobi County.
Acting Inspector General (IG) of Police Gilbert Masengeli while speaking on Thursday evening addressed the earlier incident during a press briefing of the Nane Nane protests in Nairobi.
Masengeli said that the raid witnessed at Jimi Wanjigi’s home came after police during an operation intercepted a vehicle linked to the businessman outside his home in Muthaiga.
The acting IG said that police were able to recover items inside the intercepted vehicle which include tear gas cannisters, adding that an arrest has since been made following the operation.
“We wish to inform the public that today we intercepted a personal motor vehicle in Muthaiga at the residence of Jimi Wanjigi. In the vehicle, we have recovered four teargas cannisters, two Motorola gadgets, seven assorted chargers for the pocket phones and one mobile phone. There is one arrest that has happened,” said Masengeli.
Further, the acting IG revealed that there is another motor vehicle that managed to enter inside Jimi Wanjigi’s compound, with police unable to intercept it as the gate was immediately closed after it managed to sneak in.
The acting IG while revealing about the car said that NPS is appealing for Jimi Wanjigi to surrender himself to the police as they are currently apprehending him.
NPS breaks silence on Jimi Wanjigi’s home raid
Masengeli added that investigators are on the ground to ascertain more details.
Also Read: Questions as Police Surround Jimi Wanjigi’s Home Amid Nane Nane Protests
The acting IG at the same time addressed the Nane Nane protests, thanking Kenyans for maintaining peace and those that demonstrated for doing so peaceably.
Masengeli noted that normalcy prevailed in most parts of the country except in some few areas such as the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
He revealed that a police officer was injured in Nairobi during the protests while also announcing the number of people that have been put in custody following the protests.
“Normalcy prevailed except for some areas such as Nairobi where a police officer was injured. We also arrested a total of one hundred and seventy-four suspects that is, 126 in Nairobi, 22 in Kitengela, 26 in Rift Valley and Emali,” he added.
“Consequently, the National Police Service would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all law-abiding Kenyans for preserving peace and maintaining law and order throughout the country today.”
Police search vehicle abandoned outside the home of Jimi Wanjigi
Masengeli’s remarks came after police officers were earlier on Thursday seen outside the home of businessman Jimi Wanjigi at around 3pm in the evening.
Also Read: Maina Wanjigi, Jimmy Wanjigi’s Father, is Dead
Wanjigi through his social media account shared a video of the officers who had surrounded his home at 44 Muthaiga Road, Nairobi County, captioning it #Nanenane.
Photos seen by The Kenya Times (TKT) showed the heavily armed officers camping at the home in two police vehicles, a lorry and a land cruiser.
Eyewitnesses in Muthaiga who spoke to the press said that the police raid came in the midst of an operation launched by an NPS multi-agency team.
According to the eyewitnesses, the operation was launched after a black Toyota Landcruiser vehicle which came speeding towards Wanjigi’s residency suddenly stopped and was left parked outside.
It is alleged that the occupants of the car disembarked and left in a rush leaving the car outside the politician’s home, prompting the deployment of officers who arrived about seven minutes later.
Wanjigi’s Son and Lawyer Speak
In a video seen by TKT, the multi-agency team was seen at the scene conducting a screening exercise of the abandoned vehicle to ascertain some of the items suspected to be inside it.
Jimi’s son Maina while speaking to the press following the raid lamented that it is not the first time that their family home has been raided.
“It’s not the first time we’ve been raided. It seems that whenever we are a threat to them, they decide to raid us. This is all in the spirit of political freedom. Why when you show opinion against the government you have to be victimized like this?” questioned Maina.
Wanjigi’s lawyer on his part said that the raid was political motivated, further adding that the politician has faced it before and that they are prepared for any eventuality.
However, the lawyer did not speak on Wanjigi’s whereabouts, pointing out that they will address the press on Friday.
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