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A woman who escaped death by a whisker after being shot at by a police officer has asked a court to withdraw the charges.
The decision to withdraw the case stunned the court.
The policeman, Stephene Owino Ojowi, was charged with the attempted murder of Mary Njeri Mungai.
The incident took place on December 23, 2018 at Prestige Shuttle booking office along River Road within Nairobi.
The court heard that Ojowi attempted to murder Njeri by discharging an ammunition from an AK 47 assault rifle s/no 59013891, which was aimed at her.
The court was told that a bullet missed Njeri narrowly, and logged into the wall of Prestige Shuttle booking office.
Matters however took an unexpected twist when the suspect told the court that the complainant wished to withdraw the case.
“Your honour, before I take a plea, the complainant is in this court and wishes to withdraw the matter,” Ojowi told the court.
Stunned, the magistrate asked if indeed the complainant was present in court. Njeri then raised her hand to acknowledge her presence.
“Have you been coerced, intimidated or threatened by the accused person to withdraw this case?” the magistrate asked.
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But Njeri denied she had been coerced. She was then asked to speak to the prosecutor, and declare if at all she had been intimidated privately.
She confirmed to the prosecutor that she had not been coerced to drop the charges.
“Do you understand that your life was at stake, and that you don’t have spare life? That it’s through mere luck that you are alive?” the magistrate asked Njeri.
“Yes I understand,” Njeri replied.
“Go and think about that matter again. I will give dates so that you are sure of your intended action of withdrawal because this is a serious case and the prosecution could prefer more charges,” the judge ruled.
Ojowi was released on a Sh1 million bond, with an alternative of Sh500, 000 cash bail. The hearing is set for January 21.
