There was no gun drama, my enemies want to finish me - City businessman Chris Obure

By Nairobian Reporter | 7yrs ago | 3 min read

City businessman Chris Obure who has on two occasions been linked to misuse of firearms now says the accusations are lies peddled by his business rivals.

On New Year’s Eve, Obure was reportedly involved in a gun drama at a popular nightclub. According to a report made at Kilimani Police Station, Obure had double parked his Range Rover and upon being asked to get his car out of the parking as he was blocking some customers who wanted to leave, Obure turned violent, smashing a car window and brandishing his gun at other revellers.

Obure however dismissed the accusations, saying that, “I had just come from holiday with my wife from the Bahamas. I dropped her home and decided to meet a few friends. The parking was full and I double parked. Later, I was called by the club’s security to move my car, but on reaching the parking lot, some young men who were very drunk started hurling abuses at me, asking why I had blocked their car.”

He says an altercation ensued and he moved his car and walked away, only to be shocked the next day when he was summoned by the police who said someone had complained that he had threatened them with a gun and broke their car window.

“The sad thing is these are guys I know and at one point, we were friends before jealousy set in. They went everywhere, telling people how they will bring me down. They are using the incident to make sure the press publishes negative stories about me so that I can lose clients. This is all business rivalry and I know the person who is bankrolling the whole scheme,” claims Obure.

The businessman, aged 33, also denied accusations that he threatened to shoot Alex Lwin at the nightclub last year on November 2.

“I didn’t threaten to shoot anyone. I was just caught up in the middle of a scuffle. Why would I fight in a club? I usually have bodyguards whenever I go out clubbing, so I have no reason at all to fight in clubs,” says Obure, adding that after the Parklands incident, he surrendered his gun to the police for a ballistics test which revealed his gun hadn’t been fired in years.

Chris Okeyo Obure who owns a house in Lavington, where he lives with his family, elicited online gossip in 2015 when he threw his wife, Farha, a lavish baby shower party which reportedly cost Sh10 million.

The party, held at Nairobi’s upmarket hotel Villa Rosa Kempinski, was attended by several public figures and celebrities, including news anchors Lulu Hassan and Kanze Dena, as well as Ambassador Yvonne Khamati.

Also in attendance were Kendi Mwiti-Otieno, the lady who hit the headlines when her now-husband Jared Otieno landed in choppers and flashy cars for her bride price payment ceremony in Meru in August 2015.

Obure is among a select group of young tycoons and licensed firearm holders who have landed in trouble with the police. In June last year, a 53-year-old British national and Wananchi Group Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer, was charged with the murder of his 42-year-old Kenyan girlfriend at his residence in Karen using his firearm.

The same month, a 35-year-old property developer, Leonard Kanari who is a licensed firearm holder, shot dead a man in what was described as a love triangle rivalry.

In 2012, police arrested and charged Jackson Maina Wangui, one of the directors of Club Click on Baricho Road after he shot and killed a reveller following a commotion. Maina was a licensed firearm holder.

In 2014, controversial businessman Raj Devani was disarmed by police after he became violent at his residence in Westlands.

And in January 2015, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko’s bodyguards were disarmed for misusing their firearms. The police officers, who had in the past been accused of harassing motorists and shoppers in malls, were photographed brandishing assault rifles while dressed in civilian clothes at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi.