Why always you? Police officer on the spot over handling of suspects
Evans Meroka Mamboleo appears before Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi at the Makadara Law Courts on December 6, 2023.
A city magistrate has questioned the professionalism of a female police officer at Mariguini Police Post in Makadara Sub-County, Nairobi, after a suspect was charged with threatening to kill her.
Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi of Makadara Law Courts raised concerns after Evans Meroka Mamboleo was arraigned before her.
Mamboleo was charged with threatening to kill the officer at the police post.
Mamboleo is alleged to have uttered the words "ile kitu nitamfanyia ni kitu mbaya sana na kama hatachunga nitamaliza yeye (I'm going to do something bad to her. If she's not careful, I'll finish her off)" to the officer on November 29.
Prosecutors believe that these words amount to a threat to the officer's life.
Mamboleo had gone to the police station to check on a suspect being held there when an alleged scuffle occurred before he allegedly uttered the words.
He is said to have banged on the reporting desk at the post while allegedly threatening the officer's life, and she was informed.
She later lodged a complaint at the post and the suspect was arrested by undercover police officers.
However, when Mamboleo was arraigned, Ms Gichobi said the prosecution should take note that the officer was also a complainant in several other cases pending before the court, hinting at possible unprofessionalism on the part of the officer in dealing with suspects.
In one of the cases where the police officer is the complainant, rape suspect Ben Marita Mokema, alias Jembe Kali, was charged in July this year with committing an indecent act with an adult after he allegedly touched the officer's breasts.
Mokema is accused of attempting to sexually harass the police officer when she arrested him at his home in Fuata Nyayo slums in Nairobi on July 21, 2023.
He was released on Sh60,000 bond by former Makadara Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia after denying the charges.
Ms Gichobi released Mamboleo on a bond of Sh80,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh40,000.
The case will come up for a pre-trial hearing on January 11, 2024.
