Defiant Jumwa spoiling for a fight with her political enemies

As she walked to the Mombasa Port Police Station cells, Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa had a message for her enemies: “I won’t be afraid of the arrows by day.”

The lawmaker quoted popular gospel song by Fred Hammond: “I won’t be afraid of the arrows by day, From the hand of the enemy, I can stand my ground with the Lord on my side, For the snares they have set will not succeed.”

Ms Jumwa posted the words on her social media pages just minutes after the High Court ordered she be remanded for three days, pending mental assessment.

The MP will be expected to take plea on a murder charge alongside her aide Geoffrey Otieno tomorrow. 

“We shall overcome my people!” she said.

Ms Jumwa was with Deputy President William Ruto in Meru on Saturday. She attributes her problems to associating with the DP.

“We are with them bumper to bumper. They can take us wherever they want but we will remain with Hustler,” she said in Meru before leading the crowd in a song against the Building Bridges Initiative, a political plan being promoted by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga. 

Dr Ruto has been referring to himself as a hustler. 

When Ms Jumwa appeared in court on Monday, it emerged that she and Mr Otieno did not present themselves for mental tests in relation to the murder charge.

Mr Alloys Kemo, the prosecutor, said the two failed to turn up for the tests despite committing to do so last week.

Mr Kemo informed the High Court in Mombasa that the two had been informed to appear before a psychiatrist as soon as the charge was approved.

“Such conduct demonstrates that the accused persons are unreliable,” Mr Kemo said. 

The lawmaker blamed failure to go for the test on poor communication by police.

Murder charges

Through her lawyer, Jared Magolo, Ms Jumwa said a WhatsApp communication by security agents did not clearly state the venue and time of the tests. 

“The accused did not defy any request. The miscommunication between police and the accused is regretted and not deliberate. It was a communication by way of whatsApp. The correspondence shows there was a slight misunderstanding,” Mr Magolo told the court. 

He added that Ms Jumwa was in Meru and Nairobi when police informed her that she was required in Mombasa for mental assessment.

In the application to have the pair detained, the prosecutor said police need time to complete their investigations and take fingerprints.

“We also ask that an order be made that a social inquiry report is written in preparation for the plea. We make this prayers because every person is equal in the eyes of the law,” Mr Kemo said.

The legislator spent Mashujaa Day in confinement.

The court declined to allow an application by Ms Jumwa to be released on bond.

Ms Jumwa is accused of killing an uncle of ODM politician Reuben Mwambize Katana during the October 2019 Ganda by-election campaigns.

She faces another case of conspiracy to defraud the Malindi Constituency Development Fund of Sh19 million, conflict of interest, money laundering and acquisition of proceeds of crime.

While the murder trial begins on Thursday, she was freed on a Sh5 million bond in the other case.