By Antony Gitonga
A standoff between police officers and warders in Naivasha Prison paralysed activities at the local courts.
Warders at the Naivasha GK Prison have refused to admit remandees in the jail after police shot dead one of the warders on Wednesday on suspicion he was an armed robber.
Yesterday morning, the warders declined to ferry remandees to the local courts stalling the hearing and mention of more than 50 criminal cases.
The prison authorities supported the warders forcing police to accommodate remand prisoners at the Naivasha Police Station cells.
Sources told The Standard that senior officers at the jail were fully behind the warders and have openly accused the police of cold-blood murder of their colleague.
The deceased was picked up by police hours after armed robbers shot dead a traffic police officer along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway.
The police said the suspect was shot dead a few metres from the scene where the traffic policeman was killed when he went back to search for a pistol he had allegedly dropped.
But according to the officer-in-charge of the Naivasha Prison, Patrick Mwenda, police arrested the warder and executed him.
Identify a body
"A senior police officer called me saying they had arrested one of my warders in connection with the early morning killing of a traffic police officer. He then called later asking me to go and identify a body at a local morgue," said Mwenda.
The warders accused police of engaging in a smear campaign, adding that none of the thugs shot by police in Ruaka was a prison warder.
But police stood their ground saying that the warder was part of the gang, adding that a Ceska pistol had been recovered from him.
The warders have vowed to make sure justice is done.
"We have sent our officers to Ruaka following the killing of four suspects. None of them is a prison officer as claimed by police," said Mwenda.
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The warders admitted that there was bad blood between them and regular police.
"The police openly said they will revenge the killing of their colleague and they have done it," said a warder who did not want to be named.
Area district commissioner has called for an urgent district security committee meeting to iron out the differences.
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