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Politician held over militia link
Daily Nation
Story by SIMBI KUSIMBA and BERNARD KWALIA
Publication Date: 4/15/2007
A politician alleged to have links with militiamen believed to be behind the violence in Mount Elgon has been arrested.
Mr Fred Kapondi Chesebe, who contested the Mt Elgon seat on a Ford People ticket in 2002, was yesterday moved from the Bungoma police cells, where he spent the night, to the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) offices for a two-hour interrogation.
He emerged from the NSIS offices shortly after 11 am.
The arrest came as another man was shot dead in Mt Elgon on Thursday night. Mr Bera Chemorion, 24, was shot in the head by gunmen who invaded Chepkaikai centre at 7.30 pm.
Mr Chesebe is being held on suspicion of having links with the Sabaot Land Defence Force, the ragtag outfit behind the killing of more than 145 people and the displacement of more than 45,000 others in Cheptais and Kopsiro divisions in Mt Elgon.
The politician had travelled to Bungoma in the company of two police officers from CID headquarters in Nairobi together with a Saboti constituency parliamentary aspirant, Mr Lawrence Mokosu, after he reportedly offered to attend a leaders meeting in Mt Elgon slated for yesterday. The meeting was put off at the last minute.
Bungoma police commander Thomas Matano declined to comment on the whereabouts of Mr Chesebe who was arrested on Thursday.
Mr Chesebe and Mr Nathan Wasama, a political activist and self proclaimed second in command of the SLDF are on the police list of wanted suspects believed to be behind the killings in Mt Elgon.
Speaking to journalists in Bungoma yesterday, Mr Mokosu said: “Mr Chesebe was made to believe he was going to meet Western PC Abdul Mwasera but when we got to Webuye, they drove straight to Bungoma police station where he was informed he was under arrest”.
He called for Mr Chesebe’s unconditional release to pave the way for dialogue, save people’s lives and find a way to have the militiamen surrender.
Clear his name
Mr Chesebe last week held talks with the Western provincial security committee in Kakamega Town to clear his name over his perceived role in the ongoing violence Mt Elgon.
In the latest Chepkaikai attack, Mr Chemorion was confronted by a gang who exchanged nasty words with him before shooting him dead as he was closing his shop. Villagers said they suspected he might have been killed by people on a revenge mission.
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