Steve Mbogo eats humble pie after slaying with deadly firearms at terror attack scene
Politician Steve Mbogo has claimed that he was on Wednesday cleared by the police regarding a rifle and bulletproof vest he was captured wielding at the scene of the Dusit D2 Hotel attack.
As criticism continued to mount on various platforms as to the value his presence added at the site, Mbogo told Nairobi News that after grilling by detectives he was let go as all his firearm documentations were found to be in order.
“We have cleared. I have given them my licence and everything and they cleared. So, it is okay,” he said on Wednesday evening after leaving the Nairobi Area Police Station, adding that he got the licence last year.
“We are done and they won’t require me to appear again,” he added.
But Nairobi county police commander Philip Ndolo told Nairobi News that he was not aware of any questioning or arrest of the politician.
TERROR ATTACK
Photos and videos of Mbogo at the scene of Tuesday’s terror attack have put him in the line of fire since they surfaced online.
Security researcher Mwiti Muriithi, who has authored an anti-terror guidebook titled Act Before Bang, said the ideal situation is that civilians own pistols and not long-range weapons.
“Do you know why civilians are given pistols and not rifles? It’s because pistols are for close combat; to protect yourself when your life is in danger and not for fights. A rifle is meant for war; an exchange,” Muriithi said.
“For those in this industry, we call weapons concealed for a reason. That’s not a public display of force. He was displayed like a security officer, and that is only required by security forces,” he added.
LICENCED GUN HOLDERS
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, a former patron of the National Gun Owners’ Association, wrote on Facebook in relation to Mbogo’s actions, “Kenyans deserve respect.”
In an interview with a local TV station, Sakaja added that there were licenced gun holders who helped a great deal on Wednesday whereas there was a handful of them “who did not have goodwill.”
Regarding the video circulated showing Mbogo in one of the buildings, the politician said that he had not sanctioned the filming and distribution.
“It is someone else who took them; it is not me. Being a public figure, you cannot control people taking pictures of you. If you look at those pictures, they were taken while I was unaware. Those are things you cannot control. When you are a politician, a public figure, anyone will take your photos and will make you trend and all,” he told Nairobi News on phone.