Police officers’ decision to detain lawyer Ndegwa Njiru and subsequently arraign him in court after his vehicle stalled along Thika Road has come back to haunt them after he sued the trio, seeking compensation for the alleged trumped-up charges.
The Director of Public Prosecutions declined to approve the charges, which led to the Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s ally being set free by the court.
In his case before High Court Judge Francis Kyambia, the lawyer accused Inspector Nancy Chemelil Mwaura and Police Constables Geoffrey Cheruiyot and Victoria Nyambura of alleged abuse of power.
The lawyer wants the three to personally compensate him and foot the legal fees he incurred after the arrest. At the same time, he is seeking an order to have the trio declared unfit to hold public office.
He claimed that the officers allegedly sought a Sh20,000 kickback.
“No lawful command can authorize the commission of unconstitutional acts and that every police officer bears an independent constitutional obligation to reject and refuse to execute unlawful orders,” argued his lawyer Njiru.
Constitution does not suspend human dignity merely because an individual has been arrested. To the contrary, Constitutional protection becomes most necessary precisely at the point where the State exercises coercive authority over an individual.
Njiru painted a horrid picture of the holding cells at Kasarani Police Station.
He claimed that the toilets are blocked, while the fouls smell reeks right inside the cells. He further alleged that maggots slip from human waste into the 10 by 10 rooms.
He narrated that on July 8, 2026, at around 9 pm, he was along Thika Road when his vehicle developed a problem and stalled.
“The mechanical failure was sudden, genuine and entirely beyond my control. Appreciating the need to safeguard other road users, my driver immediately activated the vehicle's hazard lights, warned approaching motorists of the breakdown and took reasonable measures to ensure the safety of other road users pending the arrival of mechanical assistance,” said Njiru.
He stated that some help came through and the vehicle was manually pushed off the main carriageway onto the left side of the road, which then allowed traffic to continue flowing.
It is then that Cheruiyot and Nyambura showed up and he allegedly explained to them that the vehicle could not start owing to contaminated fuel.
“Having satisfied themselves that the vehicle could not move under its own power, the second respondent (Cheruiyot) informed us that arrangements had been made for a breakdown vehicle to tow the motor vehicle to a place of safety. I readily agreed and expressly requested that the vehicle be towed to the nearest petrol station situated approximately three hundred meters (300) away, where appropriate mechanical repairs could be undertaken,” he continued.
He asserted that the agreement was to have the vehicle towed to a petrol station. Instead, he claimed, the breakdown vehicle drove toward Kasarani Police Station.
Upon inquiry, he said, Cheruiyot allegedly became aggressive.
“I became apprehensive upon observing that my motor vehicle was being conveyed towards Kasarani Police Station and not the nearby petrol station as had earlier been represented by the respondents. e 2nd Respondent violently grabbed me by the collar, forcefully threw me onto the tarmac, stepped on his chest and loudly proclaimed in Kiswahili: "Kijana, leo umepatikana. Lazima leo ulale ndani. Wewe hujifanya mjanja sana. Tutaona vile hiyo “WANTAM” yako itakusaidia sasa. Hizi ni orders kutoka juu,” he continued.
He also claimed that Cheruiyot then directed Nyambura to produce handcuffs, after which he and the vehicle ended up at the station.
Njiru stated that he was directed to undergo an alcohol breathalyzer test, which he declined, arguing that the High Court had declared the tests unconstitutional.
“Prior to my confinement, the 2nd and 3rd Respondents demanded from the Petitioner the sum of Kenya Shillings Twenty Thousand (Sh20,000) in exchange for my immediate release and the abandonment of the intended arrest. I unequivocally declined to accede to the unlawful demand. The subsequent assault, arrest, detention and threatened prosecution were actuated not by any genuine belief that he had committed an offence but by retaliation for refusing to participate in an unlawful act of corruption,” he claimed.
The Judge directed the officers, the Officer Commanding Station at Kasarani and the Inspector General of Police to respond to the case and appear for a mention on September 17, 2026.
