Joshua Waiganjo acquitted of car theft

Nairobi, Kenya: Suspected police imposter Joshua Waiganjo has been acquitted of a motor vehicle theft charge.

Nairobi Senior Principal Magistrate Ellena Nderitu set Waiganjo free after the complainant told the court that he had recovered the lost car.

Waiganjo had been accused of stealing Joshua Wanyeki's car worth Sh550,000 from Pangani in Nairobi in March 2010.

The court was informed that the damages had been paid and the two parties had settled the matter.

However, Waiganjo will be back in court on Monday for the mention of another case in which he is accused of impersonating a police officer.

Waiganjo had been formerly charged in court for allegedly presenting himself as a police officer.

It is alleged that on September 4, 2012, Waiganjo arrested two people by falsely presenting himself as a senior superintendent of police while at Kenya Forestry College in Londiani, Kericho County.

Waiganjo was released on a cash bail of Sh1 million or an alternative bond of Sh2 million.

Police helicopter

Two former top officers – former Provincial Police Officer John M'mbijiwe and the former Commandant of Anti-Stock Theft Unit Michael Remi Ngugi – were also charged with involvement in Waiganjo's alleged recruitment into the police force.

The two denied the charges and were released on a Sh1 million cash bail or Sh2 million bond each.

The Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko had issued orders for the trial of the two former officers after evidence implicated them.

Police investigations had established that M'Mbijiwe allocated a car to Waiganjo and also permitted him to fly in a police helicopter to Baragoi for a security meeting.

Ngugi, on the other hand, is alleged to have allocated a car to Waiganjo and assigned him a driver.

The suspected police imposter is also accused of robbery with violence among other charges.

Dates for mention of the other cases facing Waiganjo have been set.