Police fire in the air as 18-year-old suspect tries to escape from Nyeri law court

NYERI, KENYA: Business at the busy Nyeri law court on Monday' came to a standstill, after prison warders fired several shots in an attempt to stop an 18-year old man from escaping justice.

Most of people who had attended the hearing of their cases had to scamper for their safety, as gunshots from prison warders rented the air, disrupting business at the courts.

This was after an attempt by James Mbugu Kiama to escape from the long arm of the law was nipped in the bud by prison warders at the courts.

Eye witness told The Standard that, Kiama, a remandee at King'ong'o Maximum Prison had just appeared before resident magistrate Catherine Mburu in court number Seven.

Kiama was attending the hearing of a case in which he was charged of stealing his father’s motor vehicles spare parts valued at Sh 7,800.

He had denied that on August 5, 2014, at Babito village in Mweiga Nyeri County, he allegedly stole motor vehicle spare parts, the property of his father Simon Kima Gitahi.

Gitahi had earlier told the court that on the material day he returned home from work at around 5.00 pm in the evening, when he discovered his vehicle a Suzuki registration number KUC 601 had been vandalised.

"The vehicle had been dismantled and some of the parts were scattered all over the place, with some of them missing,"Gitahi said.

It was at this juncture that Gitahi inquired from his wife Lucy Wanjiru, who told him she had seen his son around the garage.

His father said he reported the matter to Mweiga police station and the accused arrested and charged with stealing.

He was remanded after he failed to raise the cash bond of Sh20,000 or a Sh50,000 bond, the hearing resumes on November 25.

"He had just left the court room and was being escorted to the waiting prison lorry, when he started running through the lower gates with both hand cuffs when he tried to dash for his freedom ," Maina said.

Maina said the suspect took off at high speed heading toward Kamakwa shopping Centre, with prison officers and the Administration Police in hot pursuit.

"It was at this juncture that the officers started shooting in the air, to stop the suspect who was determined to escape, I heard more than four shots," a Wachira Kimani a boda- boda operator told the standard.

Chief inspector Isaac Murungi from Kingo'ngo prison said the suspect was immediately re arrested and was in their custody.
"We have tightened security in and out of the courts to ensure so much escape take place, we had to shot in the air to stop the man escaping from lawful custody," he added.