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City cops grill Supreme Court judge over gun drama


Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday spent two hours at Supreme Court Judge Mohammed Ibrahim’s house as investigations on whether he threatened security guards with a gun began to gather pace.

This comes as witnesses of the incident at Jambo Village along Brookside Road accused the judge of being economical with the truth about what exactly happened.

The detectives arrived in two cars at the residence at about 11am and left shortly before 1pm after accessing the scene and interrogating witnesses starting with the security guards.

They also spent some time at the judge’s house before leaving. Justice Ibrahim left shortly after the detectives had left in an unmarked car.

NO STATEMENT

Sources told Saturday Nation that the judge was yet to record a statement at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Office (DCIO) in Gigiri.

He was grilled on Friday night at the Spring Valley police station where the matter was first reported and told to report to Gigiri police station Friday for further interrogation.

Initially, the judge had claimed that he had a confrontation with the guards because they had been rude to him and that they had brought strangers to use a toilet within his compound.

Jambo Village is a gated estate with about a dozen houses and is accessed by two common gates and residents do not have their personal security arrangements.

As a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ibrahim is entitled to round-the-clock state security. It is not clear if the policeman assigned to him was present on Thursday night.

At Jambo Village, security is provided on a shared basis and split between Securex Limited who man one gate and Rans Security mans the other. There is also a barrier leading to the common gate Justice Ibrahim uses to access his house that is manned by A Team Security.

Mr Patrick Mkasa, a guard with A Team Security, said the confrontation stemmed from the fact that a guard from their company used a toilet located at the entrance of Jambo Village and the judge found out.

‘THROWING TANTRUMS’

“He asked the guards why they were allowing strangers into the compound and left,” said Mr Mkasa. “He came back after an hour, he was very furious about the matter and he locked the guard out after throwing tantrums,” he added.

Mr Patrick Ndombi, who mans the gate that the judge uses, told Saturday Nation that when he came for his shift in the morning he found the gate locked.

“I went back home since there was no way I could work,” he said. Mr Ronald Ayiera, the owner and director of Rans Security Services, has said that the judge reached out to him on Friday afternoon and apologised.

“The guard whom the judge wanted removed has also been reinstated but police should still get to the bottom of the matter,” he said. Jambo Village does not have CCTV cameras at the gate. The judge on Friday said he does not own a gun and neither is he a licensed gun holder.

“I have no reason at all to threaten a watchman. I have no gun and I have never had one.” In the absence of CCTV footage and proof of whether the judge owns a gun, the investigation is likely going to be based on Justice Ibrahim’s word against his accusers’. However should he be found culpable, he could lose his job.

In 2012, Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza was forced out for assaulting security guard Rebecca Kerubo at the Village Market shopping mall in Nairobi.