Two senior police officers were arraigned before a Nairobi court for assaulting Joseph Kinuthia Nyambura, an advocate of the High court.
Officers Benedict Mugo and Moses Labu Kengere appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo but did not plead to the assault charge levelled against them by the state saying they needed more time to settle the matter out of court with the complainant.
Through lawyer Danstan Omari the two officers informed the court to indulge them to finalize the out-of-court negotiations with lawyer Kinuthia.
“I urged the court to indulge the two officers to conclude negotiations of resolving this matter out of court. The officers have since approached the complainant with a view of settling this matter out of court,” Omari said.
He added that the constitution encourages Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to avoid clogging cases in court.
The complainant confirmed to the court that the two officers had approached him and did not oppose to the request to have plea postponed to Monday June 27,2022.
The victim’s lawyer, Law Society Of Kenya and International Justice mission and IPOA did not object to the request but condemned the actions of the two officers for attacking Kinuthia while in his line of duty.
The officers are alleged to have assaulted the lawyer on 23rd January 2022 within Dandora Police Station in Nairobi.
Magistrate Kagendo directed the matter to be mentioned on Monday to allow the two accused persons to settle the matter through ADR, failure to which they shall appear in court for plea taking.
She further ordered the two officers to be detained at Capitol Hill police station until Monday
