Officers implicated in Embu brothers death seek inquest
Six police officers implicated in the death of two brothers from Kianjokoma in Embu county have moved to court to block their prosecution until an inquest into their deaths is conducted.
The six: Benson Mputhia, Consolata Kariuki, Nicholas Cheruiyot, Martin Wanyama, Lilian Chemuna and James Mwaniki want the court to issue an order for an inquest to be held in respect to their death prior to their arraignment for plea-taking of murder.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari, the six officers are also seeking an order for exhumation of the bodies of the deceased brothers for purposes of conducting an autopsy before Independent Pathologists to be appointed by them.
“The autopsy on the cause of death of the two deceased brothers were conducted to the exclusion of our representation by independent pathologists of our choice,” they say in court documents.
The officers also seek to be admitted on reasonable bail or bond terms pending the conclusion of an Inquest into the death of the two brothers and also they be availed with their mobile phones for purposes of transacting on Mpesa.
IPOA suit
They have sued the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Director of Public Prosecutions and the Inspector General of Police.
In documents filed in court, the officers claim that Benson Ndwiga and Emmanuel Ndwiga jumped from a police Land Cruiser vehicle while escaping arrest, which lead to their death.
“The suspects were being ferried together in the same police van, the deceased persons in a suicidal act while escaping lawful custody jumped out of the moving police vehicle thus succumbing to injuries,” reads court documents.
In an affidavit by one of the officers, Nicholas Cheruyiot, the officers claim that they arrested the two late brothers at Kianjakoma Market while on patrol and placed them in the Land Cruiser guarded by Wanyama and Cherono who are also linked to the murder.
“It is upon booking 8 arrested suspects that we learnt two of the suspects were missing since we had arrested a total of 10 suspects during our patrol,” he said in affidavit.
“At this Juncture one of the suspects informed us that 2 suspects jumped out of the Police Land Cruiser and escaped while we were being driven along Mbuvori Market and Kariari Market on our way to Manyatta Police Station,” he stated in court documents.
Cheruyiot claimed that the duty officers left Manyatta Police Station to Kiriari –Mbuvori road in a spirited effort to see if they court get back the two brothers to lawful custody.
Part of route
“While in our search along the said road which falls on part of the route we used on our way to Manyatta Police Station, two bodies of unknown male adults were discovered lifeless with clear head injuries,” he stated.
The four officers claim they immediately notified all their commanders of the occurrence and remained at the scene guarding it from any interference.
“Later on, our Commander arrived and after their preliminary investigation traffic accident personnel came to the scene of the crime having been notified for further police action after which we returned back to the police station and where we remained for the better part of the morning,” stated Cheruyiot.
