Police looking for politician Cyrus Jirongo following a gun drama incident in Nairobi

NAIROBI, KENYA: Police are looking for former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo after he was involved in a gun drama incident in Nairobi.

Jirongo is accused of having shot at another motorist who had tried to help him from “a stalled car” on Friday dawn along Arboretum Road.

He shot at the car of one James Njenga, a Nairobi businessman who had tried to help him out of his car that had stalled on the road at 2 am on Friday.

According to police and Njenga, Jirongo shot and damaged the vehicle three times after he woke up and found the good Samaritans had removed him from his Range Rover.

Njenga was driving home along Arboretum Road when he found Jirongo’s Range Rover on the road with the engine still running.

According to Kilimani police boss Peter Katam, Jirongo had apparently engaged neutral gear but accelerated hence leaving the engine running continuously.

“When Njenga arrived there he thought the Range Rover was burning and ran there, opened the doors where he found the driver a sleep with his leg on the accelerator. He called guards from a nearby apartment who helped him to remove Jirongo from the steering,” said Katam.

Katam added after they had removed Jirongo from the steering, they searched his pockets and inside the car and found his mobile phone which they used to call his wife.

“They say they recognised him as Jirongo and decided search his phone book for his wife to come and help take him home.”

And as they were waiting for the wife who had said she was on the way, Jirongo allegedly woke up and went for his gun and shot at Good Samaritans as they took cover behind their car.

They later sped off to the nearby Kileleshwa police station where they reported the matter.

Jirongo who is a licensed gun holder did not respond to our calls and texts to his mobile phone.

Katam said they were looking for Jirongo for grilling over claims of malicious damage and misuse of his gun.

Police want to disarm the former minister and test the gun to establish if he shot at the victims.

The incident came a day after a motorist shot and seriously wounded another motorist in a road rage along Moi Avenue in Nairobi.

The victim had been hit from behind and when he alighted to establish why the accident happened the other motorist shot him in the head before speeding off.

Police said the attacker was enraged after the other victim confronted him.

The victim was grazed in the head and is stable in hospital, police said. Cases of road rage involving gun holders have been on the rise.

Under the new controversial Security Laws Amendment Act 2014 the Firearms Act has been amended and the Firearms Licensing Board established.

The Board shall be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary and shall consist of a Chairman and two representatives from the National Police Service one of whom shall be from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, one representative from the Office of the Attorney-General and one representative from a private members group of lawfully registered gun owner.

Other representatives will be from Kenya Wildlife Service, National Intelligence Service, the National Focal Point and there shall be a secretariat.

“The persons serving as licensing officers immediately before the commencement of this section shall be deemed to be officers of the Secretariat to certify suitability of applicants and periodically assess proficiency of firearms holders and issue, cancel, terminate or vary any licence or permit issued under this Act,” says the law.

The secretariat shall also register civilians firearm holders, dealers and manufactures of firearms under the Act, register, supervise, and control all shooting ranges that are registered under the law, establish, maintain and monitor a centralized record management system and perform such other functions as the Cabinet Secretary may prescribe from time to time.
The law says no person shall manufacture, assemble, purchase, acquire or have in his possession an armored vehicle unless he holds a certificate of approval issued.

Those found with illegal weapons liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and not more than fifteen years.