ODM leader who shot at journalists in 2015 set free

An ODM politician caught on camera opening fire at a group of journalists in Gilgil two years ago was yesterday acquitted by a Naivasha court.

Chief Magistrate Peter Gesora threw out all four charges facing Nakuru ODM chairman Peter Ndungunya ole Sono.

The magistrate further directed police to return a pistol and a firearm certificate they confiscated from the politician after the incident.

Mr Sono had been charged with incitement to violence and disobedience of the law.

The charge stated that on May 22, 2015, in Oljorai village, Nakuru County, he discharged a bullet from a revolver. The charge further stated that the act was calculated to bring death or physical injury to Raphael Munge and Evans Barnabas Asiba, who are journalists based in Nakuru.

In his ruling, the magistrate noted that the prosecution did not prove that the accused incited his workers to cause violence.

Mr Gesora added that the particulars of the offence did not meet the threshold to warrant the court to enter a verdict of guilty.

He said the accused was a man under siege after a crowd surged towards his vehicle and damaged it as proved by one of the witnesses.

The magistrate noted that despite the surging crowd, no one was injured. He said Sono had an obligation to shoot in the air and rescue his wife who was also under siege.

Meanwhile, an ODM aspirant in Naivasha has lodged a complaint with the police about weekend meetings at which some communities living in the area were allegedly threatened.

Addressing the press in Naivasha, David Kilo, who is an aspirant in Hellsgate ward in Naivasha, said the meetings had created fear and anxiety in parts of the lakeside town.

"I have reported the threats at Naivasha Police Station. As victims of the 2007 (post-election) violence in Naivasha, we fear that some leaders are taking us back to those dark days," he said.