Police woman in skirt saga now off the hook

The Industrial Court has heard that a police disciplinary panel has acquitted corporal Linda Okello of charges over her dressing.

In light of the revelation, the court in Nairobi said a decision would be made on a case in which Linda has sued her bosses, arguing the disciplinary action violated her rights.

The court is set to mention the case next week, where she challenged disciplinary action instituted against her, to decide whether it would continue or be dropped.

“The application by the petitioner has collapsed but I do not have instructions on the petition. We can mention the case in a week’s time,” her lawyer said yesterday before Industrial Court judge Justice Maureen Onyango.

In her case, Linda through her lawyer Prof Tom Ojienda lamented that she was being subjected to unfair and unreasonable enquiry wherein she was charged with the offence of appearing on duty untidy in her clothing contrary to the National Police Service Act.

The particulars of her offence before the police disciplinary team on May 19 ( last month) was that at around 1pm on April 26 at the Kenya Commercial Bank in Kiambu County, she appeared scantily dressed in police uniform. The charge continued to read that she was caught by a camera wearing a tight-fitting skirt which caused a lot of public hype in the electronic, social and print media.

In the case where Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo is a respondent, the court heard that the charges in the sheet were not corresponding but conflicting. Ojienda termed them as “defective and only meant to humiliate Linda”.

mental anguish

In her defence, Linda said: “I have been a police officer for the last 11 years, during which I have maintained a clean record with no disciplinary issue and the unsubstantiated charge was only meant to cause indignity and mental anguish which I have to endure ever since I was booked for disciplinary action.”

Linda told the court that Chief Inspector Mwarigha had declined to preside over the orderly petition room against her as he saw no grounds warranting the disciplinary action.

“The only crime was to dress in the uniform issued to me by the force quartermaster in 2003 and which I have worn from time to time without my superiors raising issues until now,” the document before the court read.