The dramatic arrest of Starehe Constituency Member of Parliament, Charles Kanyi Njagua-popularly known as Jaguar did not catch many by surprise as his reckless statements did on Wednesday.
But what many may not want to believe is that the MP could spend five good years in prison as all his attempts to cajole CS Matiangi into releasing him hit a snag.
Almost after threatening foreigners doing business in the country with beatings and forceful evictions, the former musician-turned politician received flak from all corners of the country.
First to dismiss his statements as embarrassing was Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Amb. Macharia Kamau who said the Kenyan Government deeply regretted the inciteful remarks.
“The Government of Kenya wishes to categorically distance itself from Hon. Charles Njagua’s reckless and unneighbourly statements,” he said.
“We wish to take this opportunity to reassure all foreign nationals living and working in Kenya of their personal safety and also offer a firm guarantee of the security of their investments in Kenya”.
Adding insult to injury, the youthful first-time MP is said to have refused to report himself to Parliament Police Station, leading to a dramatic arrest outside parliament buildings.
Now, what complicates Jaguar’s case is that his case did not only create tensions within the country but also without.
Wednesday afternoon, Tanzania Parliament hotly discussed the xenophobic remarks uttered by the MP in supposed ‘attempt to cushion his local constituents from competition.’
While traders could argue that there are a lot of undocumented foreigners illegally doing business in Kenya, there are laid down procedures to solve the issues.
Going blatant that the alleged foreigners should be rounded up and battered before being bundled into the airport is against the law, and more, could create hatred to Kenyans doing business in foreign lands.
Reports indicate that Kenyans are the most spread-out people among its East African counterparts, and this alone marks them as targets.
While the MP may argue that he was ‘pressured’ by his supporters into spitting the venom, that reasoning is inadmissible in the court of law.
Perhaps unknown to the now embattled MP is that he was charged with killing two people, a boda boda rider, Mugo Mwangi, and his passenger, Joseph Maingi in a controversial ruling where the court found him guilty but just fined him 20,000 or in default six months imprisonment.
Pleading for his continued detention, the prosecution argued that Jaguar was a convict and could pose danger if released before investigations are completed.
“It is important for the court to be aware that he’s a convict. He was sentenced on February 21, this year on two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. If released on bail he might commit further crimes,” State lawyer Duncan Ondimu said
During his arrest, the MP was quickly bundled into a stand-by Subaru Outback with South Sudanese registration from where his phone was confiscated.
Detectives believe that at the time of his arrest, the MP had been mobilising a gang of criminals to invade businesses belonging to foreigners and assault their owners.
Section 96 of the Penal Code states that: “Any person who, without lawful excuse, the burden of proof whereof shall lie upon him, utters, prints or publishes any words, or does any act or thing, indicating or implying that it is or might be desirable to do, or omit to do, any act the doing or omission of which is calculated:
- to bring death or physical injury to any person or to any class, community or body of persons; or
- to lead to the damage or destruction of any property; or
- to prevent or defeat by violence or by other unlawful means the execution or enforcement of any written law or to lead to defiance or disobedience of any such law, or of any lawful authority,
is guilty of an offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.”
Reacting to the statement Thursday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i, who was mentioned in the hate speech, distanced himself from the MP, noting that he would ‘deal with him.’