Jomo, the son of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, has withdrawn the legal case he initiated against the government regarding its intention to confiscate his firearms.
High Court Judge Jairus Ngaah presided over the adoption of a consent agreement on Wednesday, wherein Jomo decided to withdraw the case filed last year.
Justice Ngaah, in confirming the resolution, declared that “by consent, this matter is hereby marked as settled,” effectively putting an end to the legal dispute.
The State, in turn, committed to not interfering with his firearms license. The agreement also clarified that the Firearms Licensing Board had no plans to revoke the license and would adhere to the procedures outlined in the Firearms Act when dealing with Jomo.
Jomo had taken the matter to court in July of the previous year after his Windy Ridge home in Karen was raided by police officers, who insisted that he surrender his firearms. His argument centered on the violation of his constitutional rights by the government’s actions.
In the case, Jomo’s lawyer Fred Ngatia argued that the government could only revoke the licence after summoning him and hearing his side of the story.
The senior lawyer said the board also ought to have formally informed Uhuru’s firstborn son why it intended to revoke the licence.
He said Jomo feared that police might use excessive force and expose him to criminals as the public now knows he has no weapon for self-defence. The lawyer said the police’s actions are meant to attract publicity, which he says may be detrimental to his client’s safety.
“The applicant is apprehensive that the first and second respondent may use strong-arm tactics; deploy brute force to compel the applicant to surrender his firearms and licence and while so engaged attract media attention with the resultant publication that the applicant has been dispossessed his firearms thus unwittingly inviting criminal elements to target the applicant.
His lawyer told the court that he had not received any written communication or complaint about his use or possession of firearms.
However, in its reply, the board argued that it was neither interested in cancelling Jomo’s gun licenses nor was it aware of the raid.
The board’s chair Rashid Yakub said he never sent police officers to Jomo’s home.
Further, he stated that he never asked police officers to order Jomo to surrender the guns he had.
The senior officer said that he was a stranger to the July 21 drama adding that the board has never written any demand or orally directed that President Uhuru’s son’s license should be cancelled.
“I am a stranger to the happenings of July 21, 2023, and confirm that I did not instruct any police officers to raid the Applicant’s residence and the request by the so-called police officers to surrender his firearms and license is alien to me.
I confirm that the board has neither cancelled the applicant’s license nor impounded his firearms and the board does not intend to cancel his firearm license,” said Yakub.
