Police block Hassan Joho supporters from papers probe
What you need to know:
- Mr Joho is accused of forging documents to apply for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Nairobi in 2009.
Chaos has broken out in Mombasa after supporters of Governor Hassan Joho were blocked from entering Coast Provincial Police headquarters, where the county boss is expected to record a statement on his Form Four certificate.
Mr Joho is under investigation after the national examiner declared his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education papers fake.
NERVE CENTRE
He marched with his supporters from his office to the regional police nerve centre, which is more than 400 metres away, to be greeted by a heavy contingent of armed officers in anti-riot gear.
The embattled governor refused to enter the headquarters until his ODM colleagues— including his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi, Senator James Orengo and MPs Abdullswamad Nasir (Mvita), Rashid Bedzimba (Kisauni), Badi Twalib (Jomvu) and Mishi Mboko (Woman Rep)— were allowed in.
Mr Joho was also flanked by his lawyer Mohammed Balala.
However, Mr Joho’s supporters, who evaded police roadblocks to reach the entrance, were denied entry and kept at bay.
Tension was high from 6am as armed General Service Unit and other police officers barricaded State House Road and erected roadblocks.
The governor's supporters were pitching tent outside the police headquarters entrance by the time of going to press.
Earlier, police blocked journalists from accessing the police headquarters “for security reasons”.
Armed officers were also deployed to Kisauni, Mr Joho’s stronghold, to keep an eye on his supporters and and prevent them from flocking to the police headquarters.
The Mombasa governor was summoned by police on Tuesday to record a statement on his academic papers after the Kenya National Examination Council said his result slip was invalid.
Knec wrote to the Director of Criminal Investigations, saying the 1992 result slip that Mr Joho is alleged to have used to gain admission to the University of Nairobi was forged.
Earlier this week, Mr Joho dismissed the Knec verdict and vowed to prove his case.
The ODM deputy party leader said the claims are part of a Jubilee government scheme to silence and finish him politically for fighting for the rights of Coast people.
Through his director of communications, Richard Chacha, Mr Joho said there was no other person or entity in the country questioning his papers except Jubilee.
“It is a war that began in 2013. They started (it) through their bloggers and then the newspapers. But I tell you this is a futile attempt by the Jubilee government to discredit the governor,” said Mr Chacha.
He urged the media to verify facts from Serani Secondary School, where Mr Joho sat his KCSE exam in 1993.
Mr Joho is accused of forging documents to apply for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Nairobi in 2009.