Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi during a past event/FILEMt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi has strongly denied claims that 18 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition were recovered from his residence following a police search linked to the murder of former councillor Nathan Wasama.
Kapondi said the allegations were false and challenged those spreading them to verify their claims before making public statements.
The legislator spoke while addressing the media over the circumstances surrounding Wasama’s killing, which occurred last Thursday and has since generated political controversy in Mt Elgon.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had claimed that 18 guns and thousands of bullets were recovered from Kapondo’s residence during the operation by detectives. Kapondi, however, dismissed the allegations, saying no firearm or ammunition was found at his home.
“I want to make it very clear that at my residence, though the search was done unprofessionally, nothing like a single gun was recovered because I’m not in the business of keeping guns,” he said.
He said the search only recovered ordinary household items, including axes, pangas and traditional sticks.
“I’m not a gun runner. No single gun was found at my residence;no single bullet was found in my residence,” Kapondo said.
He explained that the traditional sticks found at his home were used during cultural ceremonies and were kept at the residence after such events.
The MP accused political aspirants in Mt Elgon of attempting to exploit Wasama’s death for political gain by allegedly feeding Gachagua with unverified information.
He urged the DCP leader to establish the facts before commenting on the matter. Kapondi also strongly denied any involvement in the killing, saying his political career had never involved targeting opponents.
“My conscience is clear. I’ve never been in the business of killing political opponents. It has never happened in my entire political career,” he said.
He questioned the suggestion that Wasama’s killing was politically motivated, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the former councillor’s death needed to be established through investigations.
Kapondi further alleged that discussions surrounding the murder had been diverted into politics and claims about firearms, while raising questions about the circumstances preceding Wasama’s death.
He said he had deliberately remained silent after the killing to allow investigators to conduct their work without interference.
“I’d kept quiet personally because I wanted the investigation to take its natural course without any interference, because absolutely I had nothing to hide,” he said.
Kapondi also questioned the manner in which the search at his residence was conducted, claiming he was not informed about the warrant or the operation beforehand.
He said he was at home on Thursday evening and arrived at about 8pm, before spending the whole of Friday at home and attending public engagements.
“Nobody informed me. I was at home on Thursday evening and arrived home at 8 in the evening. I was there the whole of Friday,” he said.
Kapondi said he was ready to cooperate with investigators and maintained that the truth would emerge if the matter was allowed to follow due process.
