Police constables face life in jail for assaulting colleague
Two Police Constables are staring at life imprisonment for brutally assaulting a senior colleague during the enforcement of curfew regulations.
The duo was based at Mawe Mbili Police Post in Ruai, Nairobi. Constable Evans Mithika, who was arrested yesterday and his colleague who is yet to be arrested were found to have assaulted an Inspector attached to the Critical Infrastructure Police Unit (CIPU) as he was proceeding home from duty on May 26.
One hand of the victim was severely broken and was fixed using plates to hold the bones in place.
“On the evening of May 26, as they were enforcing curfew orders, they jointly caused grievous harm to a Police Inspector, who was proceeding home from duty,” a report at the Capitol Hill police post read.
The victim reported to Ruai Police Station, but the Station Commander neither informed his seniors nor initiated investigations into the attack.
Investigations were taken over by detectives from the Internal Affairs Unit, who after the probe, forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecution.
Conduct of OCS Ruai was also a subject of probe. Last week, the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai directed that disciplinary action be taken against the Station Commander.
“The OCS Ruai attempted to cover up the attack and even concealed vital information after the assault,” a senior officer at the police headquarters said.
Constable Mithika, who was yesterday detained at the Capitol Hill Police Station, is expected to be charged in court this morning. His arrest comes just a day after two other police Constables were arrested in separate incidents.
Under Section 234 of the Penal Code, any person who unlawfully causes grievous harm to another is guilty of felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.
On March 30, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and the Council of Governors chair Wycliffe Oparanya issued a joint statement confirming that there were incidents where police officers fell short of the required standard while enforcing curfew rules.
Reports indicate that rogue officers, have during this curfew period, violently assaulted vulnerable people like pregnant women, and even bludgeoned providers of exempted services such as journalists.
