Former Senior Police Officer Jailed For 1 Year Over Bribe

An image of a police officer
Henry Ngugi Njeru, a police officer appearing before a court.

Former Kabete Divisional Criminal Investigating Officer (DCIO) Henry Ngugi Njeru was on Tuesday, December 8 sentenced to one year in prison over a bribe.

The senior police officer was charged with soliciting Ksh50,000 from James Wachaga Kamau on November 5, 2016, in Kabete.

Njeru was accused of demanding Ksh50,000 from Kamau so that he could release his camera which he had allegedly seized.

Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters along Kiambu Road
Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters along Kiambu Road
Simon Kiragu
Kenyans.co.ke

The former DCIO was also charged with failing to record the incident in the police occurrence book contrary to the National Police Service act.

Appearing before the Milimani anti-Corruption Court, Magistrate Felix Kombo gave Njeru an alternative to pay a fine of Ksh500,000.

The Ksh50,000 bribe from Kamau was meant to be a 'facilitation' fee so as to release a camera which he had seized and detained from the victim.

In 2017, the court had briefly withdrawn the charges against Njeru after the prosecution wrongly charged him under a section of the law that had been repealed.

The prosecution had charged him under section 39(3) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act of 2003.

The application was opposed by Cliff Ombetta, Njeru's lawyer after a new provision that allowed ongoing investigations to be brought under the new Act.

He joins the list of officers to be jailed after David Otieno, an Administration Police officer was sentenced to 57 years behind bars for attempted murder. 

Hands resting on jail bars at a police station.
A photo of a person resting his hands on jail bars at a police station.
Photo
Kenya Prisons
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