Police officer accused of killing university student leader Evans Njoroge alias 'Kidero' was remanded after being charged with murder.
Administration police Constable Leakey Maina pleaded not guilty to the charge when he appeared before Justice Francis Gikonyo in a Meru court.
Maina, who is attached to the Miathene Police Camp, was charged with killing the Meru University Student Council Secretary-General in Kabebe village of Tigania West on February 27.
Before the court which was packed with human rights activists and students from several universities, Maina denied the charge and defence lawyer Charles Gachichio applied to have the officer freed on bail.
[caption caption="Administration police Constable Leakey Maina (right) in court"]
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The prosecution had tabled a mental assessment report showing that the accused was fit to stand trial for murder.
Led by Patrick Namiti, the prosecutor opposed the bail application, arguing they were waiting for a comprehensive investigation report from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa).
The report by IPOA was noted to indicate whether the administration police Constable would interfere with prosecution witnesses.
However, the court rejected Namiti's appeal to hold Maina for seven days awaiting the Ipoa findings and ordered the prosecution to produce the report on Thursday before a ruling on bail could be made.
Njoroge was allegedly gunned down at close range as he attempted to flee from police in February 2018.
Residents of Nchiru, the neighborhood of university recounted how a police officer pursued Njoroge, spotted him hiding under a tree and shot him as he ran away.
[caption caption="The late Evans Njoroge alias 'Kidero'"]
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The students had been demanding reduction of school fees by Ksh8,500 and improvement of the university’s infrastructure.
Witnesses had told journalists that after the shooting, the police officer who was well-known to the locals returned to their vehicle and removed his jungle jacket before driving off.
