MP spents night in custody over murder charge

By FRANCIS NGIGE

Gatundu North MP Clement Kung'u Waibara spent a night in custody for allegedly conspiring to murder a party in his election petition.

Waibara was eventually arraigned in a Nyeri court on Thursday where he denied the conspiracy to murder charge.

He was accused of conspiring to murder Bernard Chege Mburu, who replaced the original petitioner in the case challenging his election.

The MP was arrested on Wednesday night at Blue Post Hotel in Thika where he was with friends and taken to Nyeri Provincial Police headquarters.

On Thursday morning, a handcuffed Waibara was taken to court to answer to the charge that has been pending for the past 10 days.

Waibara was released on Sh30, 000 cash bail until June 6 when the case will be heard.

He was apprehended following a warrant of arrest issued by Muketi on May 10, when he failed to appear in court.

He was charged that on diverse dates between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011, jointly with others not before court he conspired to kill Mburu.

An attempt by his lawyer Muhoho Gichimu to have the case transferred to Thika was dismissed by the magistrate.

Muketi said she had no powers to order that the case be tried in Thika where the alleged offence was committed.

Proficiency test

Waibara has been in the news for all the wrong reasons with a witness in his election case claiming that he sat a proficiency test for him.

Mr Martin Ndung’u Kahura testified in an election court that he was approached by Waibara to assist him obtain a proficiency test in English and Kiswahili.

Waibara won the Gatundu North seat in 2007 General elections.

"The MP confided to me that he had one handicap in his quest to vie for the seat. He asked me to sit for the test on his behalf," Kahura testified in court early this year.

He told Justice Fred Ochieng’ how they went about the whole plot.

"We held many meetings with Mr Waibara at Dancing Spoon Restaurant and at his rural home. I volunteered to assist him," the witness recounted.

When Waibara was declared the winner in the election, Mr Peter Kamau Njeri, a registered voter filed a case challenging the move.

However, on September 26, 2008, Lady Justice Roselyn Wendoh allowed Njeri to withdraw from being the petitioner and substituted him with Mburu.