The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has ordered the arrest of Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, ODM chief whip and Raila Odinga’s cousin, for “providing false information”. The warrant to arrest Midiwo follows a police investigation into claims he made during a speech at a funeral two weeks ago that there was a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Odinga. He later made a statement to police and named people he said were aware of the plot.

SEVERE LEGAL AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES

Mr Midiwo, of course, remains innocent unless and until he his proven guilty but as the Kenyan Forum noted before he has many questions to answer (see postings of April 10 and April 11) and if he were to be convicted the consequences for him could be severe, both legally and politically.

If found guilty, Midiwo faces not only a large fine or even a prison sentence, he would also be ruled out from standing at the next election.

Currently in South Africa, Jakoyo Midiwo has said he is ready to go to court and claimed that the police recommended charges against him because he had named ‘powerful individuals in high offices’. “To the police it is a lie when some people, who are untouchable, are mentioned”, he told reporters.

RAILA ODINGA NOT QUESTIONED

The Director of Criminal investigations, Mr Ndegwa Muhuro, said that there was no indication in Midiwo’s statement to the police that Prime Minister Odinga was ‘privy to the allegations’ and neither he, nor his security detail, were questioned.

Whether the Prime Minister should have been questioned is a debatable point but a line of inquiry that investigated if Midiwo’s inflammatory allegations were purely politically motivated, or more the point, organized and coordinated, should surely have been considered.

It is not too late for the police to interview some of Raila Odinga’s aides and associates such as Salim Lone, Caroli Omondi, Sarah Elderkin, MP Gitobu Imanyara and others to ask what if anything did they know of Midiwo’s plot theory, and if they did, when did they know it.