Three police officers attached to Kamukunji Police Station on Thursday denied aiding a Ugandan kidnapping suspect escape from lawful custody.
The three, Corporal Vacity Kimeres and Constables Stephen Auko and Elias Koome, were arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) following completion of investigations into the escape of Martin Wasike on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
According to the DCI, analysis of CCTV footages revealed that the trio deliberately, unprocedurally and unlawfully released the 27-year-old, who had been charged at Milimani Law Courts alongside two others for Kidnapping constable Abel Misati and handling suspected stolen property.
Appearing in court today, the police officers denied aiding escape charges and were freed on Ksh50,000 cash bail each.
The victim’s lawyer, Alfred Nyandieka, had asked the court to detain the suspects and deny them bail.
Read: Court Summons Kamukunji OCS As Ugandan Man Charged With kidnapping Cop Escapes From Cell
But the suspects’ lawyer said the court should presume them innocent until proven guilty, stating there is no compelling evidence to deny them bail.
The defendants’ lawyer said that there is no connection between his clients and the person alleged to have been kidnapped.
“They have no contact with the alleged kidnapper who is at large. The application is lacking any foundation in law,” the lawyer said in his request to have the police officers released on lenient terms.
The station OCS Shamir Yunis had on Monday been summoned by Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot to explain circumstances under which Wasike escaped from the police cells.
On Tuesday, the court gave the OCS two weeks to arrest Wasike.
Read Also: Court Gives Kamukunji OCS 2 Weeks To Arrest Ugandan National Who ‘Disappeared’ From Police Cells
Wasike and his co-accused, Shariff Wanabwa and Phoebe Anindo, were last week charged with the offence of kidnapping constable Misati “in order to murder”.
According to the police, the three committed the crime on January 19, 2020, at an undisclosed location.
The 27-year-old cop has been missing for four months and is feared dead.
On April 17, sleuths from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) tracked and recovered his mobile phone in Eastleigh.
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