A Kiambu Member of the County Assembly has been placed in police custody as investigations into the source of an emblem branded on his Nissan Hiace van continue.
Wiethethe MCA Julius Macharia Taki and his driver had earlier been charged with contravening traffic rules by driving an unroadworthy vehicle.
According to the charge sheet, Taki and his driver George Ngugi Kiarie were charged before a Thika court with operating with tinted passenger windows, excess passenger seats i.e 19 instead of 16, loose passenger seats, defective passenger seat belts, sliding door and coloured parkrun bulbs.
After earlier denying the charges, they were released on a cash bail of Ksh 20,000 but were almost immediately returned to the dock after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), through the prosecution, filed a successful miscellaneous application by the to have Taki and his driver remanded for five days over the improper use of emblems.
The prosecution said this would allow the DCI to investigate the source of the emblem that has been trending on social media.
The defence, however, protested, arguing the application had been filed to settle political scores. But the court granted the application by the prosecution.The case is scheduled for mention on June 4.
The saga was sparked after Taki branded his vehicle with graffiti in support of Deputy President William Ruto’s Tanga Tanga Movement, which is pushing for his 2022 presidential bid.
Among others, the vehicle, Reg. No. KCQ 918U, is branded with a portrait of Ruto in military fatigue “portraying him as the Commander in Chief.”
The vehicle also displayed graphics of the coat of arms and national flag of Kenya thus contravening section 3 (a) of the National Flag Emblem and Names of Act.
The law prohibits one from flying the national flag on any premises or occasion other than a government one and or a national holiday respectively.
Flying the national flag on vehicles is a preserve of the President, the Deputy President, the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the National Assembly and Senate, Cabinet Secretaries, Kenyan diplomats (only when abroad) and the Attorney-General.
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Contravening the law on National flag may land one in jail for a maximum of five years and a fine of Ksh 5 million or both.
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