By Wahome Thuku
Richard Towett Kiplasoi, the lorry driver who was captured on camera wrestling with a police officer, is now facing five traffic and criminal charges.
Besides a charge of assaulting the traffic officer Evans Makori on Thika-Nairobi highway, Towett is accused of driving without wearing a safety belt and driving a vehicle without reflectors and a broken windscreen.
Towett, who works for a businessman in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado, was returning to his base when he was stopped by the officer near Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.
Richard Towett Kiplasoi at Nairobi Law Courts where he was charged with assaulting traffic policeman Evans Makori, driving without a licence, not wearing a safety belt and driving a vehicle without reflectors and a broken windscreen. [PHOTO: EVANS HABIL/STANDARD] |
Yesterday, he was taken before Makadara Law Courts where he admitted two charges, one of failing to carry a driving licence and was fined Sh5,000.
Sustained injuries
In that court he denied another charge of driving a vehicle without reflectors and was released on Sh10,000 cash bail. From there he was taken to another court where he was charged with the assault and released on Sh20,000 bail. Yesterday Towett went back to court and the police substituted the charge sheet. They crammed up all the criminal and the traffic offences in one charge.
Towett denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Daniel King’ara and was released on the same cash bail. Hearing of the cases was set for March 22.
A soft-spoken Towett claims the officer started the fight even after he had surrendered and agreed to be taken to the police station.
He says the commotion began inside the lorry cabin long before the public noticed it.
"During my 19-years driving experience, I have never been charged with a traffic offence. I have never had my fingerprints taken or recorded a statement at any police station," he said.
He told reporters that he was locked up at Kasarani Police Station and was not assaulted while in the cells.
