Eldoret Resident Magistrate Barnabas Kiptoo on Wednesday, July 22, summoned Deputy Inspector-General of Police Edward Mbugua to present himself court to present a police officer charged with shooting a resident four years ago.
The officer in question identified as Rex Okhato stands accused of shooting Charles Musima Wafula at Kapkoros, Eldoret West in Uasin Gishu County on February 9, 2016.
At the time of the alleged shooting incident, the officer was attached to Kapkoros Police station in Eldoret West.
“The Deputy Inspector-General of Police must appear before this honourable court to explain the circumstances under which the accused police officer has not been brought before this court to take a plea in regards to charges facing him,” Magistrate Kiptoo's ruling reads in part.
According to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), attempts to have the accused officer present himself in court have been unsuccesful.
The prosecution, backed by IPOA further argued that failure to appear in court has delayed the justice process for the victim of the shooting.
Deputy IG Mbugua made the headlines on October 13, 2019, when his boss, the Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, was forced to take action against him following an investigative feature dubbed Westlands Underworld, which was aired on Citizen TV.
The feature exposed several senior government officials, aluding to how they used their lofty positions to harass a wealthy Asian family headed by 70-year-old Dilip Bakrania.
The IG, upon consulting with Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and DPP Noordin Haji, ordered for a formal investigation to commence immediately, going on to order for the submission of all evidence on the highly-sensitive matter.
“Towards this end, any member of the public, including Citizen TV, with documentary evidence on the said matter are invited to submit information to the Director Internal Affairs Unit; National Police Service," read an excerpt of his statement.
Officer-involved shootings have been well documented in Kenya, with the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji recently starting his case against a police officer who allegedly shot and killed 13-year-old Yasin Moyo in Huruma, Nairobi on March 30.
Duncan Ndiema Ndiwah, the law enforcer was identified as a person of interest after IPOA concluded its investigation and handed the file to the DPP.
