Nairobi News

A man was over the weekend arrested in Machakos County for impersonating a Firearms Licensing Board (FLB) officer and issuing fake firearm certificates to members of the public seeking to own guns.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in a statement on Monday said Dominic Ondari Ombogi, 42, was arrested at his home in Nguluni, Matungulu, Machakos county following a court order obtained from Kahawa Law Courts, after intelligence reports placed him at the core of a dreadful syndicate that issues fake firearm certificates to non-vetted applicants.

Police said preliminary investigations have since established that Ondari, who allegedly poses as a well-connected resource person in the firearms board, has only operated in the underworld and never sat at the Firearms Licensing Board as he alleges.

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“Upon his arrest, assorted filled firearm application forms, psychiatrist reports from Mathari Referral Hospital bearing different names, a seal from the Central Firearms Bureau, various FLB and Armatech Kenya Ltd rubbers stamps, four civilian firearm certificates, forged letters allegedly from the Nairobi region police command and several bank statements were seized,” DCI said.

According to the DCI, Ondari has been battling accusations of stealing a firearm and making a document without authority at the Nairobi court and has been out on Sh500,000 bond.

In the active case, the man is accused of duping a Kajiado youth into believing that he could transfer the certificate of his late father’s firearm into his name, before subjecting the unsuspecting victim to endless paperwork that culminated in the theft of the firearm.

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Authorities said they had also established that, jointly with others who impersonate officials on the board, Ondari targets vulnerable victims who are in haste to be cleared for gun ownership, recklessly providing the fake certificates to anyone as long as money changes hands.

“He even renews the certificates periodically at a cost of Sh6,000,” DCI added.

The suspect was detained at Muthaiga Police Station to pave the way for investigations to establish other accomplices.

The matter will be mentioned at Kahawa Law Courts on March 10, 2023, where Ondari will face charges of being in possession of implements of forgery and making documents without authority.

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