A 24-year-old man was on Tuesday sentenced to 7 years in prison after he was found guilty of assaulting a police officer.
While delivering its ruling, the Kakamega Court found the man guilty of committing the crime in May this year.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, in a statement remarked that the man who had appeared before the court twice before, had refused to take plea but finally pleaded guilty to all charges.
“The accused after refusing to take plea on two occasions eventually took plea today and pleaded guilty to all the four counts," stated the ODPP.
Further, the prosecution provided evidence in court to prove that the officer had been assaulted while on official duty.
The Magistrate further observed that the offence of assaulting police officers was becoming rampant hence the issuance of a custodial sentence as a deterrence.
The judge’s ruling was issued after the prosecution counsel requested the court to uphold the minimum sentence as prescribed by the law.
This ruling comes at a time when a 19-year-old teenager was taken in to police custody following the alleged assault of a police officer.
The teenager who was recorded in a video which went viral was arraigned in court on Tuesday morning after he was spotted battering a police officer along Kamiti Road on Sunday Morning.
In the incident, the police officer sustained injuries prompting a probe and the subsequent pursuit that led to the suspect's arrest. The young man went into hiding after the whole matter blew up.
According to a charge sheet seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the 19-year-old was charged with robbery with violence after he allegedly stole a battery used for a police communication gadget and a mobile phone valued at Ksh50,000.
