Lawyer says tycoon Punjani will return home to clear name

Suspected drug baron Ali Punjani is expected to return to the country this morning, days after he was allegedly discharged from an Indian hospital where he was undergoing a heart surgery.

 Punjani’s lawyer Jeff Asige yesterday said the embattled tycoon will surrender to authorities upon arrival at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa, and thereafter record statements with the police.

 The suspected drug lord was reportedly discharged from hospital on Friday.

 Asige said his client was ready to cooperate with authorities to clear his name.

  “He cannot flee from his country over allegations that are baseless. I am 100 per cent sure travel arrangements are already in place and he wants to prove his innocence by cooperating with police in the ongoing investigations,” he said.

 The development comes amid a looming transfer of top police bosses in Mombasa and the coastal region, who have reportedly been implicated in the renewed war against drug trafficking.

 Mombasa county police commander Johnstone Ipara, who oversaw the raid to recover narcotic drugs from Punjani’s Nyali palatial home,  is likely to be the first casualty.

Armed guards

Last Tuesday during the raid, Ipara denied media reports that Punjani had been assigned armed police bodyguards.

The looming reshuffle comes barely six days after interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said during his tour in Mombasa that the war on drugs would be ruthless and painful.

 “This time the government is ready to move a step further even if it’s looking among us,” he said.