Police officer who threw gun at Lamu woman surrenders

LAMU: A police officer accused of causing the death of a 22-year-old woman, from Mpeketoni, Lamu, after he allegedly threw his gun in her direction, has surrendered to Malindi police.

Mohammed Salim, a member of the regular police force and who was recently attached to Mpeketoni Police Station, surrendered to Malindi CID headquarters yesterday afternoon accompanied by his lawyer James Muoki who denied his client has been hiding.

Relatives of the deceased Margaret Njeri have said she was hit on the head by a gun on January 17, which caused a fracture that made her slip into a coma before causing her death on March 2.

The officer is alleged to have thrown the gun in an attempt to hit the boda boda rider, who was ferrying Njeri, and make him stop but he ducked and it hit the girl, throwing her off the motorcycle.

Until his appearance at the police station Thursday, Salim was thought to be in hiding especially after Njeri died at Pandya Hospital, where she had been admitted.

Following an uproar over his alleged crime, Salim was transfered to Kizingitini island.

Malindi DCIO John Wachira confirmed the officer's surrender adding that he will be formally charged after investigations are completed.

"We are with him now and we are only finishing a few police processes before taking him to court," the DCIO said.

Speaking to The Standard, Muoki, Salim's lawyer, said his client had not escaped or gone into hiding as alleged in the media.

SICK CLIENT

He said Salim was not available because he had been ill and had been house bound for two weeks, adding that what happened to Njeri was an accident.

"My client has been sick and is now ready to face the law, having fully recovered," he said.

The lawyer's claim could not be confirmed and it was not clear if the officer was aware that Lamu police had ordered his arrest following Njeri's death.

An embittered Salim said the incident has been politicised and accused the media of lynching him.

"It is so sad that although the incident was not intentional and I regret it, I have been portrayed badly by politicians and the media," he said.