Three police officers accused of aiding Masten Milimu Wanjala’s prison escape will be jailed for 7 years if found guilty.
The three officers namely; Philip Mbithi, Kamakia Mutuma Boniface and Precious Mwende Mwinzi were arraigned in court on Friday October 22 before Nairobi Principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi and charged with two counts of aiding a prisoner to escape from lawful custody and negligence of duties.
The officers pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the charge sheet, the three are said to have aided Masten’s escape from lawful custody between the night of October 12 and October 13, 2021 at the Jogoo Road Police Station.
With reference to the second count of negligence of official duties, it is alleged that being employees of the public service, they willfully failed to prevent the escape of Masten Wanjala, a duty they were dutifully bound to perform under the National Police Service Act.
The State Counsel Tom Gachoka objected to the suspect’s bail application as they await trial.
The lawyer representing the officers, Danstan Omari asked the court to release them on bail while saying that they will challenge the charges later.
“Under the National Police Service Act once a suspect has escaped from lawful police custody and is arrested the matter is dealt with administratively. However, since the accused are before you we avoid that line because it will be a protracted battle with the state. We are seeking you to enter them into a reasonable bail terms and cash bail,” Omari said in his submission.
The officers were released on a cash bail of Ksh150,000 or an alternative bond of Ksh300,000 with one contact person.
The matter will be mentioned on November 4, 2021 before the trial court.
According to Lawyer Omari, the officers risk a jail-term of 7 years if found guilty of the crimes. He has however vowed to fight until his clients get acquitted of the charges.
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