Details of OCS's Mistaken Arrest After Matiang'i's Order

On Monday, Kizingitini OCS Shadrack Mumo, in Lamu County, was arrested alongside three other junior officers for allegedly facilitating the release of a drug trafficker.

His arrest came a day after Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Fred Matiangi angrily pledged to zero down on drug traffickers.

A report by The Standard indicates that the OCS was mistakenly arrested as the suspect had not been apprehended in the first place.

According to the publication, officers who were on patrol and conducted the raid on the drug trafficker's house nabbed the drugs but the occupant was able to escape.

The officers recorded the bust at their station. It is further reported that the Lamu county police commander Muchangi Kioi talked to Mumo about the incident but later sent officers to arrest him.

"After Mumo was put behind bars, Kioi directed the officers at the station to charge him with gross misconduct," the Standard further stated.

On Tuesday evening, Mombasa County Police Commander Johnstone Ipara, intervened and ordered the commander to release Mumo but that was not the case as the OCS is set to be arraigned in court on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media on Monday after the arrest, Kioi stated that they were interrogating the officer for more information on the Ksh50,000 bribe he allegedly received to release the suspected drug lord.

“We have arrested one of our own, OCS Shadrack Mumo attached to the Kizingitini police station concerning an incident where he released a drug consignment and a wanted drug lord from his station on Sunday. That is how we are willing to go in the war on drugs,” he divulged.

There have been reports where police in Lamu have been accused numerously of colluding with drug cartels by demanding bribes after which they allow drug masters to conduct their trade.

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