Babu Owino throws his ‘fake Uhuru’ friend under the bus

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino says he has no close links, whatsoever, with Joseph Henry Waswa, one of the seven suspects accused of conning Sameer Group Chairman Naushad Merali of Ksh10 million.

The lawmaker’s rejection of Mr Waswa comes nearly a year after he [Babu Owino], alongside three other MPs, attended Mr Waswa’s wedding to his now-wife, Moreen Tabitha, in Kitui County.

In several pictures shared on social media, Babu Owino has been spotted in the company of Mr Waswa.

On Wednesday, journalists asked the controversial lawmaker to comment on the development of the case against his friend, Mr Waswa.

In a rather hostile tone, Mr Owino denied knowing the said-con suspect.

“I do not want to comment on bullshit. Don’t ask me stupid questions. The first thing, I was invited to Waswa’s wedding by his bride’s parents. And, her dad asked me to join them as an MP. So, I do not want to hear nonsense,” said the MP at Parliament Buildings in Nairobi before storming out of the press conference.

On December 9, 2017 tied the knot with Ms Tabitha in a Ksh5 million traditional ceremony held at Ms Tabitha’s parents’ home in Kitui County.

Mr Waswa was accompanied to the elegant ceremony by four young-and-flashy Members of Parliament (MPs), including Babu Owino (Embakasi East), Alfred Keter (Nandi Hills) and Caleb Amisi (Saboti). Mwingi West MP Charles Nguna also attended the wedding.

“Waswa is a good friend of mine. I had to be there for him on his big day,” Mr Amisi told EDAILY then.

Four choppers carrying the MPs and the groom touched down at Nzatani Village on the morning of December 9, awakening residents who least expected the rare spectacle.

Mr Waswa paid dowry for his flame Ms Tabitha and, thereafter, tied the knot with her in a traditional ceremony.

Mr Waswa told EDAILY then that he “has interests in the entertainment and real estate industries”.

“I decided to spend heavy on our big day because I was doing something for someone that I love; someone that I cherish. Tabitha has been like a mother to me. In short, she is the woman that I love,” Mr Waswa told EDAILY.

The couple, on the same day, flew out to Seychelles for their first part of the honeymoon, and jetted back into Kenya on Friday, December 15.

The two later flew to Mombasa for their second part of their honeymoon. They returned to Nairobi on December 22, 2017.

“I chose to spend the second bit of my honeymoon in Mombasa because I run several businesses in the coastal city,” said Mr Waswa.

The couple, who, until then, had lived together for 11 years, said they would hold a church wedding in August, 2018. It remains unclear whether the church wedding took place.

They are blessed with two children.

High end hotels and guest rooms in Kitui were fully occupied by his guests a day to and a day after Mr Waswa and Ms Moreen’s ceremony.

Mr Waswa shot to public fame in July, 2016, when he hosted Saleh Wanjala alias Bungoma James Bond to a luncheon at his home in Lavington, Nairobi.

Before then, he had offered a free air ticket to Mr Wanjala, who hogged media headlines after hanging on a helicopter in Bungoma carrying the body of businessman Jacob Juma, who was fatally shot in May, 2016.

Mr Waswa is said to have conspired with six of his colleagues to mimic the voice of President Uhuru Kenyatta in a bid to con him out of Ksh10 million.

The seven were on Wednesday, February 27 freed on Ksh100, 000 cash bail each by a Nairobi court.