Two police officers accused of freeing a man who had allegedly stolen property worth Sh260,000 were charged with theft in a Nakuru court Wednesday.
Hassan Chesebe and Kawa Lumangati denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Liz Gicheha.
In their statements, the two however gave differing accounts of the incident in which the suspect said to have been ferrying clothes and shoes stolen from Cynthia Jerotich, an MCA in Kabarnet, Baringo County, was allegedly left to go scot-free.
Chesebe claims to have remained inside the car when the public handed the suspect to Lumangati at Showground Junction in Nakuru town.
Further, he says, he saw the suspect talking to Lumangati before he (suspect) left on a motorcycle.
READ MORE
Turkana security chiefs accuse politicians of bankrolling goon squads ahead of 2027 polls
Woman sentenced to two years in prison for swindling a carpenter Sh200,000
Lumangati, however, says he witnessed the suspect alighting from a matatu coming from Kabarnet with luggage.
"The (matatu) driver called me after moving for about 10 metres and told me to ask the person if the items were his. By that time the person had gone," stated Lumangati.
According to the police covering report, the matatu passengers suspected the man to have stolen the goods. When they interrogated him, he claimed he lived at Nakuru GK Prison.
Coincidentally, a prison officer identified as Anthony Slight was in the vehicle. He challenged the suspect to name one of the bosses at the prison but he was unable to.
The passengers then demanded he be taken to Nakuru Central Police Station. On the way, however, they spotted a police vehicle with the two officers and handed the suspect to them.
The magistrate heard that Lumangati was found in possession of a briefcase which was used to ferry the stolen goods.
Police said the goods were found in the house of a woman who allegedly cohabits with the officer. Lumangati denies he had the stolen goods.
They were released on a Sh80,000 bond.
