DAYS after Mombasa blogger John Bruce claimed he had been dropped from witness protection, the Witness Protection
Agency has set the record straight.
WPA head of communication and public relations Calvin Oredi said Bruce was removed from the programme after repeatedly violating the memorandum of understanding the two parties signed.
Oredi said Bruce was taken into the programme on October 9 last year through an ongoing case at the Shanzu law courts in which four people including Abdul Athman, Haji Babu, Esther Muthoni and Violet Adera have been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and abduction with intent to confine.
“We
did a threat and risk assessment of him and, indeed, we confirmed he is a witness
at risk who required protection. He was also a victim,” he said.
He formally signed
the MoU on October 12. But between December 2 and 5, he had already made two
violations, over which he was warned.
“The
MoU specifies what he is supposed to do while in the programme, the engagement
parameters while in the programme, and what he is not supposed to do while in the
programme,” Oredi told the Star on Thursday.
More
violations occurred and by December 23, 2024 Bruce was issued with a warning
letter, which was copied to the DCI Kisauni and the prosecuting counsel in his
case at the Shanzu law courts.
Bruce was issued with a termination letter on August 11, which was also copied to the DCI Kisauni and the prosecuting counsel.
“After
thorough investigations by the agency, we confirmed that his actions and
behaviour amounted to gross violation of the MoU and compromised the integrity
of the of the Witness Protection Programme.
“The
agency, therefore, decided to immediately terminate his admission into the
programme,” Oredi said.
The
termination was based on Section 10 (2) (b) of the Witness Protection Act (CAP
79).
His
parent was also informed of the termination and the reasons thereof.
Oredi said the programme is voluntary and clients are not forced to join.
Bruce,
who is expected to testify on September 25, was being given stipend every month for his upkeep.
Last Saturday he told journalists WPA officials had promised to move him to another county for safety, but instead abandoned him in Mombasa.
He further alleged
that the agency failed to fulfill its commitment to replace his damaged teeth,
which were broken during the assault on September 12 last year.
“I am left with
only four molars. They promised to repair my dental formula, but nothing was
done,” the blogger said.
However,
Oredi clarified that a dental specialist had been engaged to reconstruct Bruce’s
teeth.
“The
doctor advised the teeth could not be removed at a go. So, we had that medical
plan to remove two per week. The doctor had removed 28 teeth by the time he
was being exited from the programme,” Oredi said.
However,
Bruce was advised that should he wish, he could appeal to have the dental
procedure completed even while outside the programme.
“So,
when he says we removed his teeth, the context in which he puts it is not
correct,” he said.
Oredi
said psychosocial support was offered to Bruce, just like all other clients
in the programme.
“For
the sake of his own safety, he needs to re-evaluate his personal security because
he is exposing himself too much and any of those perpetrators could easily harm
him and he would blame us. We
want to say categorically that we are not to blame should anything happen to
him,” Oredi said.
The
WPA currently has more than 300 witnesses under protection, covering over 800
of their dependents, too.
One
witness under protection could cost the agency as much as Sh6 million annually.
INSTANT
ANALYSIS
The
WPA is established under the Witness Protection Act as an independent and autonomous state agency with the mandate to
offer special protection to threatened or intimidated witnesses.
