Motorist who ran over, killed police officer charged with manslaughter

Osman Jama Abdi Nur in court in Mombasa on Thursday. [Kelvin Karani, Standard]

A motorist who allegedly dragged a traffic police officer on the road before he ran over him in Buxton, Mombasa, was charged with manslaughter.

The charge sheet stated that Osman Jama unlawfully killed Julius Mairaria Marwa, a traffic policer based at Makupa Police Station.

It is alleged that Jama trapped Marwa's hand and drove off with him hanging for 150 metres before he fell off and was run over by the rear wheel of the same car.

Interviews at the scene of the crime revealed that Marwa flagged down the car and asked the driver to switch off the engine.

The motorist allegedly trapped his hand and sped off. Marwa was pronounced dead at Jocham Hospital where he was taken for treatment.

According to witnesses, the motorist was later traced to the basement of a parking lot in Nyali and arrested.

Jama was on Friday presented before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku where he denied killing the officer along the Mombasa-Malindi road on February 27.

The prosecution said seven witnesses, including one police officer who witnessed the incident, have been lined up to testify in the case.

The accused was slapped with a second charge of driving without a driving licence.

Prosecutor Alex Gituma told the court the State was not opposed to the release of the accused on bond but asked the court to give serious bond terms. The case will be mentioned on March 29, 2023, for pretrial.