Officer slashes lawyer with m*****e in ‘marriage’ fight
Police yesterday arrested a female officer who on Wednesday night attacked her former lover, injuring him seriously.
Constable Nancy Njeri, attached to Wote Police Station, is said to have attacked Makueni-based lawyer Onesmus Masaku in his house and cut both his hands with a panga.
The lawyer was yesterday transferred from Makueni Referral Hospital to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment after his condition deteriorated.
Constable Njeri had claimed she went to the lawyer’s house on Wednesday evening on his invitation.
She further claimed that while in the house, Masaku attempted to rape her but she grabbed a panga with which she defended herself.
She cut the lawyer on both hands, inflicting serious injuries on him.
The first police report had suggested the woman was a victim of attempted rape and that her action (attacking the lawyer) was out of self-defence.
Changes story
“She was invited by one Onesmus Masaku, a lawyer within Makueni, to his house in Westlands area of Wote township with the aim of introducing her to his would-be wife.
While in the said house, the lawyer changed the story and demanded to have sex with her,” the initial report said.
“She refused but the lawyer advanced. When she still refused, the lawyer grabbed her and started forcing her into the bedroom.
This prompted the officer to grab a panga and cut him on both hands before managing to escape.”
Police said the officer sustained a bite on her right ear and on her hands. Both went to Makueni Referral Hospital but the officer was discharged.
However, the station later submitted a “progress report” to Police headquarters indicating detectives had visited the scene and established the lawyer had been seriously injured by the officer.
“The scene was revisited and it was established that Onesmus Masaku was seriously injured by Constable Nancy Njeri with a panga, which was recovered at the scene,” the updated report said.
Investigations were launched and a preliminary report indicated the officer may have gone to the lawyer’s house with the intention of attacking him over a relationship gone sour.
Blood stains
Detectives who visited the scene said there was evidence of a struggle as there were blood stains on the walls and table.
The Law Society of Kenya yesterday condemned the incident and asked the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the matter.
“Police in Makueni are complicit in the attempted murder of lawyer Onesmus Masaku by policewoman Nancy Njeri.
The two are known lovers and Njeri attempted to kill him after he refused to accede to her demands for marriage,” LSK President Nelson Havi said.
Following pressure from lawyers and revelations by people who knew about the relationship between the two, police submitted a third report indicating the officer had been arrested.
The third report read: “Following a serious injury incident of one Onesmus Madaku, a lawyer at Makueni Law Courts by Constable Nancy Njeri, the officer has been arrested and will be arraigned in court with the offence of attempted murder.”
Detectives said they had recovered a black bag containing a water heater, two mobile phones, a pair of scissors and a dress in the lawyer’s house.
The arrest of the officer brings to seven, the number of policemen including a station commander (OCS) who have been detained in separate incidents in the past five days over criminal offences and negligence.
Itabua OCS Jacob Kaberia Mbiti was arrested for leaving his firearm unattended and it was used by her daughter to shoot and seriously injure her cousin in their house.
Brief statement
The OCS, according to a brief sent to Police headquarters, secretly took the victim to hospital but failed to report the incident.
Two other officers attached to Olokurto police station (Narok North) and Ekerenyo police station (Nyamira North) have been arrested for attacking their colleagues.
In the Itabua case, detectives said though the shooting happened in the house of the OCS on September 27, it was not reported until October 5 when the victim was discharged from hospital.
Chief Inspector Mbiti had left his official Jericho pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition when his daughter, 16, took the firearm and shot her cousin aged 23. She was rushed to Tenri Hospital where she was admitted for a week.
In another incident on Sunday at Ekerenyo police station, Nyamira, Constable Kelvin Gitonga was arrested for attacking his senior who had threatened to take action against him for failing to report on duty.
At Olokurto police station, Constable Jamal Kibet Rop was on Wednesday arrested for attempting to forcibly release a female prisoner and attacking his colleagues.
