Man seeks Sh5m for police brutality

 

The High Court will determine a case in which a man is demanding compensation for brutality and injuries he suffered at the hands of police in 1992.

James Wanyoike, who was allegedly shot by police, wants to be paid Sh5 million by the State as compensation.

He says police officers who shot him along Thika Road on suspicion that he was a carjacker infringed his rights to fair treatment during arrest.

"I believe I am entitled to payment for damages and compensation for the violation of my fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution," Mr Wanyoike said.

In the case before High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi, Wanyoike, who was the driver of a police inspector, told the court that on June 7, 1992, he was offered a lift from Nairobi to his home in Kiambu by two friends who worked at Gikomba market.

On reaching Thika Road near Muthaiga, they were stopped by the occupants of a private car who started shooting at them. The court heard that the driver of the car Wanyoike was in died instantly while Wanyoike and the other passenger sustained leg injuries.

"We were ordered to stop after which the occupants pointed guns at us. They dragged us out. We were told to lift our hands. We surrendered but they started shooting. The crowd that gathered pleaded with the officers not kill us," Wanyoike said.

Old constitution

He said they were bundled into a Range Rover and taken to Central Police Station and later transferred to Muthaiga, where they spent the night despite their pleas to be taken to hospital.

Wanyoike said after healing, he could not go back to his job as his name had been tarnished and he was denied a certificate of good conduct.

Opposing the payment claims, Attorney General Githu Muigai argued that Wanyoike could not seek redress for atrocities caused under the old Constitution while relying on the current Constitution.