Kenya Police impostor carried out top assignments

Suspended deputy commissioner of police John Mbijiwe testifies in a Naivasha court where he defended jailed police imposter Joshua Waiganjo. The former Rift Valley PPO told the court that Waiganjo was being prosecuted on political grounds. [PHOTO/Antony Gitonga/STANDARD]

Joshua Waiganjo, the man accused of masquerading as a police officer for years, was very powerful and very close to the commissioner of police, a court was told yesterday.

Suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police John M’Mbijiwe dismissed allegations that Waiganjo was an impostor, saying he was in charge of many high-profile police operations.

He told Naivasha Senior Resident Magistrate Shadrack Mwinzi that among others, Waiganjo supervised transport of senior Government officers and other dignitaries during the burial of the late Vice President Kijana Wamalwa in Kitale in 2003. The ceremony was also attended by then President Mwai Kibaki.

“I have worked in the police force for 30 years and I can tell an impostor from a kilometre (away) and Waiganjo was not one of them,” said M’Mbijiwe, a key witness for Waiganjo.

He told the court that Waiganjo and police commissioner Mathew Iteere were great friends who were involved in various business ventures.

“Waiganjo would visit my office and call Iteere on his mobile phone and they would discuss various issues in my presence,” he told the court.

M’Mbijiwe (pictured) stunned the court when he said that Waiganjo, due to his close relationship with Iteere, was untouchable.

He termed Waiganjo, who is facing 10 counts that include robbery with violence, impersonating a police officer and being in possession of assorted police uniforms, as “a true Kenyan who is being persecuted on political grounds”.

M’Mbijiwe, a former Rift Valley police boss, said he worked with Waiganjo for four months.

He defended his tenure and his interactions with Waiganjo, saying he was very important in police operations. He said he was introduced to the accused by his predecessor Francis Munyambu.

He questioned the rationale and motive of prosecuting Waiganjo, saying the accused had worked with six PPOs in the Rift Valley before him.

M’Mbijiwe clashed with the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Andrew Nyambache, during cross-examination, when he was taken to task on whether he called his seniors to ask about Waiganjo.

“For 13 years Waiganjo worked with six PPOs in the Rift Valley as a senior Kenya Police Reservist and there was no reason for me to doubt him,” he said.

M’Mbijiwe, who is facing a joint case with Waiganjo, said he was a sacrificial lamb and wondered why his predecessors had not been charged.

Earlier, Waiganjo insisted he worked as a police reservist and was in the payroll of the Government.

The hearing will continue on September 3.