By Patrick Mutisya,
Constable Nancy Njeri, the Makueni-based policewoman who is accused of chopping a lawyer’s hand is set to charged with murder, police now reveal.
This follows the death of the lawyer, Onesmus Masaku, on Sunday, October 18, 2020, at the Kenyatta National Hospital where he was receiving specialised treatment.
Speaking to Milele FM on Monday morning, Makueni Police Commander Joseph Ole Napeiyan said they will amend the charge sheet so that Njeri can face murder for causing the lawyer’s death.
Napeiyan said that the police constable will be presented in court today, October 19, for the charge sheet to be amended.
She was earlier set to be presented in court on October 23, after the court allowed police more to detain her for 14 days to complete their investigations.
On Sunday, while confirming the lawyer’s death, Law Society of Kenya President Nelson Havi vowed to lead a battery of lawyers in the criminal case against Njeri.
The LSK boss also said he wants legal action taken against the officers who first recorded Njeri’s statement in which she alleged that Masaku wanted to rape her, and that she attacked him in self-defense.
“The DCI officer(s) and police officers, who first entered Njeri’s statement as a fact, should be charged with conspiring to conceal murder,” said Havi.
The suspect, Njeri, is still being held at the Makueni Police Station where she has been in detention since her arrest on October 8.
Constable Njeri, attached to Wote Police Station, is said to have attacked Masaku in his house and cut both his hands with a panga on Wednesday night, October 7.
The lawyer was on the next day, October 8, transferred from Makueni Referral Hospital to KNH for specialised treatment after his condition deteriorated.
At one point, LSK members in their various social media platforms lobbied fellow lawyers to go to KNH to donate blood for the advocate who needed a blood transfusion.
When she recorded her first statement, Njeri claimed she went to Masaku’s house on the evening of October 7, at his invitation.
She further claimed that while in the house, Masaku attempted to rape her but she grabbed a panga with which she defended herself.
She cut the lawyer on both hands, inflicting serious injuries on him.
The first police report had suggested the woman was a victim of attempted rape and that her action (attacking the lawyer) was out of self-defense.
Changed story
“She was invited by one Onesmus Masaku, a lawyer within Makueni, to his house in Westlands area of Wote Township with the aim of introducing her to his would-be wife.
While in the said house, the lawyer changed the story and demanded to have sex with her,” the initial report said.
“She refused but the lawyer advanced. When she still refused, the lawyer grabbed her and started forcing her into the bedroom.
“This prompted the officer to grab a panga and cut him on both hands before managing to escape.”
Police said the officer sustained a bite on her right ear and on her hands. Both went to Makueni Referral Hospital but the officer was discharged.
However, the station later submitted a “progress report” to Police headquarters indicating detectives had visited the scene and established the lawyer had been seriously injured by the officer.
“The scene was revisited and it was established that Onesmus Masaku was seriously injured by Constable Nancy Njeri with a panga, which was recovered at the scene,” the updated report said.
Investigations were launched and a preliminary report indicated the officer may have gone to the lawyer’s house with the intention of attacking him over a relationship gone sour.
Bloodstains
Detectives who visited the scene said there was evidence of a struggle as there were blood stains on the walls and table.
The Law Society of Kenya on October 8 condemned the incident and asked the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the matter.
“Police in Makueni are complicit in the attempted murder of lawyer Onesmus Masaku by policewoman Nancy Njeri.
“The two are known lovers and Njeri attempted to kill him after he refused to accede to her demands for marriage,” LSK President Nelson Havi said.
Following pressure from lawyers and revelations by people who knew about the relationship between the two, police submitted a third report indicating the officer had been arrested.
The third report read: “Following a serious injury incident of one Onesmus Madaku, a lawyer at Makueni Law Courts by Constable Nancy Njeri, the officer has been arrested and will be arraigned in court with the offence of attempted murder.”
Detectives said they had recovered a black bag containing a water heater, two mobile phones, a pair of scissors and a dress in the lawyer’s house.
Constable Nancy Njeri was on October 9 detained for 14 days to allow investigations into Masaku’s death.
Njeri had been arraigned before Senior Resident Magistrate Caroline Ocharo in Machakos Court.
