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The woes of former Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti, whose career ended prematurely on September 27, continue to pile, with the latest reports that he could be staring at prosecution.

In a classic case of the hunter becoming the hunted, Kinoti has been accused by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji of having forged evidence to fix suspects, mostly politicians, with graft cases, with the DPP declaring that they will not hesitate to parade him in court should he be found to have broken the law.

“Kinoti was a colleague and I do not want to take advantage of the situation but if the law was broken, that person will face the law, even if it’s me,” he said.

The DPP has also accused Kinoti for forgery, saying the decision to charge Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, for example, was made on the threshold.

“We were pushed by DCI through the media. We felt there was sufficient evidence to charge but later we discovered the documents were forged,” Haji said.

Cooked evidence

The former top sleuth has already been thrown under the bus by two top detectives, Obadia Kuria, the head of Serious Crime Unit (SCU) – who was probing Gachagua, and John Gachomo, ex-head of Investigations Bureau (IB), after they swore separate affidavits saying he cooked evidence against the DP and a judge in the Tob Cohen murder case.

Kinoti has also been in the spotlight following revelations that the Special Services Unit (SSU) officers who were reporting to him directly, could have been involved in the abduction and subsequent killing of two Indian nationals and their driver on the night of July 23.

President William Ruto yesterday reiterated that the government was committed to stopping extrajudicial killings in the country and directed the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to furnish the Ministry of Interior and Coordination with a roadmap on how to deal conclusively with the vice.

“You are uniquely qualified to help us define a mechanism to stop this practice,” he said while speaking at the State House Nairobi when he met the IPOA Board.

Forged documents

In what could escalate Kinoti’s deepening troubles, Haji has disclosed that his officers had established that the DCI had “pattern” of cooking cases against Ruto’s surrogates, and forwarding the files to him for prosecution, and presently they are working an reviewing all graft cases investigated by the unit due weak evidence.

“We were pushed by the DCI himself through the media to the extent that individuals were trying to say that we did not want to make the decision to charge (Gachagua) because we were compromised. When we looked at the evidence, we felt that it was sufficient to charge and we made that decision to charge, only that now with the affidavit we discovered that some of that evidence were documents that were forged,” Haji said in a TV interview on Sunday night.

Haji said the DCI had formed the habit of forging documents, citing the case of the Presidential petition before the Supreme Court where some documents certified by the DCI were found to have been forged.

“It was a pattern (forgery) that a lot of evidence especially when it came to corruption cases that came from the DCI, documents were flying all over and right now we cannot even depend on it (evidence) and going to review all cases that have been brought from the DCI in relations to corruption cases,” the DPP said.

In the Gachagua case, the DCI accused the politician of defrauding the taxpayer of billions of shillings, and paraded him in court for allegedly obtaining Sh7 billion through dubious government tenders.

The DP was arraigned to answer to six counts relating to fraudulent acquisition of public property, money laundering amounting to Sh7.3 billion through three bank accounts domiciled at Rafiki Microfinance Bank, which he is said to have obtained through conflict of interest for allegedly awarding close associates contracts from ministries, counties and Mathira constituency development fund.

Unlawful orders

But Kuria, in an affidavit that could see the case dropped, told the court that Kinoti wrote the affidavit implicating Gachagua and then ordered him sign the last page.

After he protested to Kinoti, his grievances were ignored, he said.

Haji, however, said even officers who followed unlawful orders could face the law. Section 51 of the National Police Service Act states that a police officer should only obey lawful commands in respect of the execution of the duties of office, from his superiors. It further states that no action can be taken against any officer who fails to comply with an unlawful order.

“If you look at some of the affidavits, they have said that they were coerced and threatened. If there was coercion, then that person has to face the law,” Haji said.

“I don’t regret working wit former DCI boss because now we have guidelines that are appreciated by everyone. We stood firm as independent institutions despite threats, coercion. My house was broken into but I stood firm,” Haji said.

Kinoti was also accused of mishandling the case of the Public Service Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa which was withdrawn.

“We asked for evidence and it has never been availed. We had to then review the case and withdraw it,” he said.

Further, the DCI is on the radar over extra-judicial cases. In December 2019 after he disbanded the Flying Squad, Kinoti said he had formed a leaner SSU that would be reporting to him.

Some of the officers have not only said it was a multi-agency operation but also said they were acting under the instructions of their bosses. This, legally, does not shield them from prosecution.

On Friday, Haji for the first time explored the concept of command responsibility and directed that the 12 police commanders who served in Kisumu in 2017 be charged for the death of Baby Pendo.

Kinoti was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on January 5, 2018, replacing Ndegwa Muhoro. Before his appointment, he was the NPS Director of Communication.

He has worked in various positions including spokesperson, head of security at the Central Bank of Kenya, head of Kanga Squad and police complaints at police headquarters, among others.