How Mombasa police officer ‘stole’ case file to protect colleague from murder charge
The entrance to Mombasa Law Courts.
A Mombasa court yesterday heard how a police officer stole a case file to protect his colleague from being prosecuted over the murder of a Form Two student.
Mr Bernard Kingori was said to have been behind the disappearance of a file created by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) after it investigated the killing of Tony Katana.
“Mr Kingori had been involved in the stealing of the said file and if given bond, then there is apprehension he could continue to interfere with the case,” said Ipoa officer Jane Ndusya.
The court also heard that the file (IPOA/INV/2002209-2018) is the subject of a court case in which the accused is charged with stealing it.
Relying on a police affidavit, state counsel Alex Gituma urged the court to deny Mr Kingori and his co-accused Faraj Masoud bond. He argued that they are influential in the community and they might interfere with civilian and police witnesses known to them if freed.
“Several vulnerable civilian prosecution witnesses in this case are very well known to the accused persons and there is a likelihood that if released on bond, they may threaten, intimidate, coerce or in any way try to influence the said witnesses,” said Mr Gituma.
He also told Mombasa Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku that the offence the suspects are charged with attracts a jail term of life imprisonment and that this might motivate them to go on the run if granted bail.
“This court has a constitutional duty to balance the rights of all persons including the victim. It is our humble submission that this court protects the rights by providing an enabling environment for the prosecution witnesses to testify without any fear or interference by declining to grant the accused persons bond or bail,” said Mr Gituma.
The two officers have been charged with the "offence of accessory after the fact to murder". They state accuses them of giving false information to protect their colleague, John Otieno, from being charged with murder.
They are said to have lied to Ipoa to save Sergeant Otieno from being prosecuted for the murder of the student.
The state alleges that the suspects committed the offence on September 5, 2016 in Nyali.
Mr Otieno was charged last year with killing Katana in Uwanja wa Mbuzi, Kongowea, on August 12, 2016. Katana was 16 years old and was a student at Havards Secondary School.
Ipoa said Katana died from bullet injuries inflicted in an encounter with the police. He was said to have been heading home after attending a wedding when the incident occurred.
The police had explained at the time that the boy was part of a criminal gang operating in the area, but Ipoa investigations debunked that theory.
Mr Kingori and Mr Masoud have been remanded pending their bond ruling on June 2.
