One of the suspects held in connection with the gangland-style shooting of former Garissa Finance executive Idriss Mukhtar has said Governor Ali Korane’s brother approached him to look for goons.
In a statement Mohamud Hussein Aden recorded with police on August 28 after his arrest in Ngara, Nairobi, the former soldier says Bunow Korane approached him and “asked if I have goons for hire”.
Governor Korane has denied any involvement.
“I didn’t know his intentions because I didn’t bother to ask him at that time,” the suspect states in the statement police said he recorded voluntarily.
It is attached to an affidavit police filed in reply to allegations that he had been tortured to confess.
Aden says he was approached about two months before the shooting while in the governor’s private office along Kilimani Chania Road, Nairobi. He says he later approached Juliet Njoki, another suspect held in connection with the attempted murder.
“In the same month of May, I brought the matter to Juliet Charity Njok if she could get the goons, having in mind she had been brought up in Eastlands, Nairobi,” he says.
Aden is being held at the Gigiri police station, pending completion of investigations after a Nairobi court granted police 15 more days. He had been arrested alongside David Mwai who died in custody after he gave a detailed confession of the plot to assassinate Mukhtar. Mwai also implicated the governor and his brother. Aden states that Njoki introduced him to two “gentlemen” — Mwai and one Amos.
“I took the names of the said persons to Bunow Korane, the brother of the governor for Garissa county,” the document reads.
He further stated that he met the “goons” and Njoki at a Java restaurant within the CBD on different days.
“These gentlemen were the goons Bunow Korane wanted,” he adds.
He stated that the work of the hired goons was to intimidate Mukhtar so he stops court cases against Governor Korane according to Bunow’s instructions.
“Thereafter, the two men, Amos and David, continued to plan and execute the work of intimidation of Idriss,” the statement reads.
He says his work was not for monetary gain, but the rest were to get some cash for the dirty work they had to do. Hussein said the payment was made immediately before the shooting and the money exchanged hands in the CBD.
“I was given cash Ksh600,000 by Bunow to hand over to Juliet so she could share with David and Amos,” he says.
Hussein returns to court on Tuesday.