Kilimani Chief arrested hours after his plight aired on Citizen TV

Kilimani Location Chief Patrick Adira was arrested on Friday, April 6 barely a day after he appeared on Citizen TV narrating the plight of his poor working environment.

Confirming the arrest, Nairobi County Commissioner Amos Mariba told Citizen TV that Mr. Adira is facing fraud charges and his arrest had nothing to do with his appearance on national television.

The commissioner claimed that the Kilimani chief was arrested over a fake liquor license that he (Adira) allegedly presented to the county licensing department on March 6, 2018.

According to the commissioner, during the March 6 incident, Mr. Adira was arrested and released on a free bond, on condition that he presents the owner of the fake license.

Mr. Mariba further claimed that a case over the fake license was due for hearing on March 26, 2018 but the chief did not turn up prompting a warrant of arrest to be issued against him.

Why it took a month to apprehend the Kilimani Chief or whether his appearance on TV was just a coincidence is anyone’s guess.

Meanwhile, sources disclosed to Citizen Digital that the county commissioner called the chief a day after he appeared on TV and reprimanded him for “embarrassing” the government by publicly airing his grievances.

During the interview on Thursday, Mr. Adira let Citizen TV into what has been his office — a derelict mabati structure tucked on the road reserve along Ring road in Kilimani.

The makeshift office, according to Adira, was set up in 2001. Despite sitting at the heart of the posh Kilimani estate and serving the entire area, the office is held by pieces of carton box on the inside. The seats are worn out while the floor has visible cracks.

“The sun is really scorching… It’s really tough you cannot stay in there without walking out,” said Adira.

“We need to improve the status of the office by maybe getting a container or something closer to that can give us a secure and more habitable environment to work in.”

The challenges notwithstanding, Mr. Adira expressed satisfaction with his job.

“I like what I do. If it was not for the passion I don’t think we could be doing what we do,” he said.

Mr. Adira has been detained at Central Police Station since Friday and is set to be arraigned in court on Monday.