‘Intelligence Briefs”:Jubilee propaganda flops, businessman Ibrahim Kharthi arrested

This propaganda website which Gatundu MP Moses Kuria has been sharing its fake news content makes a debut on our esteemed site. For a good reason.

The New York Times defined “fake news” on the Internet as fictitious articles deliberately fabricated to deceive readers, generally with the goal of profiting through clickbait. 

PolitiFact described fake news as fabricated content designed to fool readers and subsequently made viral through the Internet to crowds that increase its dissemination.

Fake news is damaging to democracy. Combined with Internet Trolls (the 36 bloggers), the effect is damaging to democratic values.

Ahead of 2017 polls, the proliferation of fake news websites is inevitable. Reader beware.

The fake news website “Intelligence Briefs” ( http://ift.tt/1TF1P2U) is run by Francis Njuguna who uses sobriquets such as Thomas Greenfield, Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Baasam Abdirashid etc.

According to our impeccable sources, Njuguna was contracted to build the Ministry of Defense (.ke) website sometime in 2014. The site was later easily hacked.

He also runs another  fake news website called ‘FP News’ whose sole content is anti-Raila diatribe. It is unclear if he has close links with the army but he seems to have a working relationship with sections of the police.

Back to Mombasa. And the arrest of Mombasa businessman Ibrahim Kharthi.

Kenya Today has independently verified that the man is NOT WANTED by Interpol, contrary to the claims by Njuguna’s fake new website, who branded him as an Al-shabaab financier, smuggled car dealer and narcotics peddler.

Ibrahim Kharthi does a legitimate business and pays his taxes faithfully. He is among the few gun dealers in the country, and has painstakingly built his business for years.

Like many business owners in Mombasa, Kharthi has been a target of Jubilee regime for the one reason that he is a long-time friend of Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho.

The reason for the arrest of Ibrahim Kharthi was not yesterday shared with the public, which provided fertile ground for propaganda.

However, a journalist with close links with the Inspector General of the Police Joseph Boinett told this writer the police had hoped they would find illegal guns and narcotics at Mr. Ibrahim’s shop, which they failed to get.

“He is a licensed gun dealer. They first wanted to frame him with handling illegal firearms used for criminal activity within the county but found no gun. Later they trailed him to his home, ransacked his house and arrested him,” he said.

The journalist has requested anonymity.

Coast Regional Coordinator has heightened wild claims touching on guns owned by associates of governor Joho. Also roped in the new anti-Joho onslaught is Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar. Omar recently sensationally claimed Joho is over-protected.

“Whenever he moves, there are more than 38 armed people including police officers who move with him. He moves around with a whole police station and an armoury,” said Omar

“It is only the President that has the number of police officers and people with guns around them like Joho. It is unacceptable,” said Omar.

Ibrahim was released at 9.30pm after Joho refused to leave the police station without him.

The Mombasa governor was accompanied by Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir and a number of MCAs and the team spent close to six hours at the police station.

Yesterday, a a number of friends and close associates of the governor found their homes ransacked by police using flimsy excuse of searching for the governor.

Earlier, Coast regional Coordinator Nelson Marwa had arrived at Joho’s residence with a new batch of police officers following the redeployment of former  policemen who guarded the governor and secured his homes.

Joho, who was expected to whine over the arbitrary manner the  redeployment was done, announced he has rejected future security allocation from the national government, a move which appeared to have caught the government off-guard.

“Let them keep their police(men); I don’t need them,” Joho told a gathering of opposition coalition at Bomas last week.

In Mombasa, every time someone is arrested; the person is either accused of fanning terrorism or is a drug trafficker. The branding gives the police leeway to commit human rights violations as well as gag the public from questioning the violations.

Increasingly, political opponents of the jubilee regime are being harassed using such charges. In particular, Gov. Hassan Joho and his associates, including friends and family, have been ready victims of police intimidation following the spat between Joho and President Uhuru.

 

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