Acting IG Gilbert Masengeli sentenced to 6 months in jail

Acting Inspector General Gilbert Masengeli was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday after being found guilty of contempt of court.

In his ruling, Justice Lawrence Mugambi ordered Masengeli to surrender to the Commissioner General of Prisons within seven days to begin his sentence. 

Should Masengeli fail to comply, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki is tasked with ensuring his imprisonment to serve the sentence.

“Mr Gilbert Masengeli is sentenced to six months imprisonment, he is ordered to submit himself to the Commissioner of Kenya Prisons to ensure he is committed to a prison facility to commence serving sentence,” ruled Justice Mugambi.

“The court nevertheless finds it desirable to impose this sentence as a coercive order as opposed to a punitive order. Mr Masengeli may avoid serving this sentence and in that regard suspend this sentencing for seven days only.”

Masengeli was on Tuesday, September 3, found guilty of contempt of court after snubbing six consecutive summons.

He had been summoned to appear before the judge to explain the whereabouts of two brothers, Jamil Longton and Aslam Longton, and activist Bob Njagi who were abducted in Kitengela last month.

Justice Mugambi in his previous ruling, termed Masengeli’s conduct unacceptable and one that bordered on outright intimidation. 

“The willful disobedience of court orders is a direct affront to the rule of law. Those who defy court orders must be held accountable, and failure to appear in court amounts to direct contempt,” the judge commented.

Today’s ruling came after the accused, Masengeli, filed an application requesting the court to postpone his sentencing to a later date. 

He argued that his focus on critical security operations and national security threats justified delaying the proceedings. 

Masengeli claimed that these ongoing operations required his immediate attention, making his presence in court unfeasible at this time.

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