Officer cries in court as he testifies during defence hearing

A police officer cried in court as he was being cross examined while giving his evidence in a case where he has been charged with the murder of Alexander Monson, the son of British aristocrat, Lord Nicholas Monson.

Police Constable John Pamba, who is facing the charge alongside three others, told the court that the case had traumatised him a lot.

Mr Pamba was being cross examined by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alexander Muteti when he began  crying as he was giving his evidence.

The officer was explaining the loss of a prisoner property box at Diani Police Station, where the deceased had been booked. He also said he did not understand what the deceased meant when gesturing with his (deceased’s) ATM card. It was at this point that he began to cry.

The officer’s crying prompted Justice Eric Ogola to ask him if he had anything he wanted to tell the court, only for him to say the case had affected him so much.

He later told the court that when he remembers the lost prisoner property box and the death of Mr Monson, the incidents make him shed tears.

“It is not because of what I might have seen that night (the time the deceased was taken to the police station),” Mr Pamba told the court.

He added that he is 51 years old and had never experienced such an incident in his years as a police officer.

Justice Ogola told the accused that he had a chance to clear himself while in the dock and that he should be part of the truth while noting that his (accused’s) cry was not an ordinary cry.

“The court is capable of finding the truth, you better be part of the truth,” Justice Ogola told the accused.

Mr Pamba, upon further cross examination by the prosecutor, denied that, together with other officers, they tortured the late Mr Monson to death.

“I did not witness the deceased being tortured,” said the officer, adding that on the night the deceased was taken to the station, he was well and did not complain of any sickness.

In his evidence-in-chief led by his lawyer Wangalwa Oundo, the officer told the court that his colleague had entered details of the deceased in the occurrence book.

Mr Pamba further said that the deceased asked if he could make a call and that he heard him utter the words “station, station” while on the call.

“After staying for some time, no one came. We told him to move to the cells and we recorded his phone and ATM (card numbers) and further told him to go inside the cells and stand at the door,” said Mr Pamba.

The officer told the court that later, a man and a woman went to the station and he referred the woman to the Tourist Police Unit’s offices.

“She did not take long, she came back and said they have refused. I told her to come back in the morning because it was nearing day break,” said Mr Pamba.

The officer told the court that in the morning, he handed over and left the station only to receive a call from his colleague in the evening informing him of the Mr Monson’s death.

“I was surprised because I was with him the whole night. I was really shocked. In my experience, I have never encountered that,” said Mr Pamba.

The officer further told the court that on the second day as he was handing over, he wanted to put prisoners’ property on the desk when he realised the box was missing.

The officer said that he was surprised over the loss of the box and he handed over to his colleagues who wrote in the occurrence book “taking over without prisoner’s property box” before investigations started.

Mr Pamba, alongside his co accused, Mr Naftali Chege, Mr Charles Wang’ombe Munyiri, a former chief inspector of police and Ishmael Baraka Bulima, were put on their defence after the court said it was satisfied that the prosecution had made a case against them.

According to the charge sheet, the accused, jointly with others not in court, murdered Alexander Monson on May 19, 2012 in Diani Location, Msambweni Constituency, Kwale County.

Parties are expected to highlight their submissions on July 28.