Tout in court after tuk tuk operator loses four teeth in fight over passengers

A tout who allegedly assaulted a tuk tuk driver and allegedly knocked out his four teeth while forcibly demanding money to allow him pick up passengers at the Maziwa bus stop on Jogoo Road in Nairobi has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm.

At the Makadara Magistrate's Court, George Oduor was charged with unlawfully causing grievous bodily harm to James Inda on November 24, 2021, contrary to Section 234 of the Penal Code.

Mr Oduor is accused of committing the offence with another tout - Quivans Okelo, who was charged with a similar offence in February last year.

Mr Inda was at the stage waiting for passengers to board his tuk tuk when the touts closed its door and ordered the passengers inside to disembark.

He came out to ask why they were chasing away his customers and they demanded money before he would pick up passengers.

There had been a long-standing dispute between tuk tuk operators and the touts over the fees for picking up passengers, and the tuk tuk operators had agreed to stop giving money to the touts who claimed ownership of the stage.

Stepped out

As soon as Mr Inda stepped out, he was accosted by one of the touts before his accomplice joined in and hit him on the mouth with a blunt object, resulting in the extraction of his four teeth.

He picked up his fallen teeth and went to Makongeni police station where he filed a report before going to the hospital.

After treatment, he returned to the police station and recorded his statement. Doctors classified his injuries as serious.

Mr Okello was later traced and arrested in February at the same location while demanding money from tuk tuk operators and charged before the same court, where he denied the charges.

He was released on Sh300,000 bond and a hearing date was set. On Tuesday, Mr Oduor also denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani.

Ms Okwani set the mention date for July 4 after prosecution counsel Remyngton Mwandawiro informed the court that the prosecution intended to consolidate the cases of Mr Oduor and Mr Okello.

Mr Oduor's bail conditions will be set by the court after the consolidation and he will remain in custody in the meantime.