EACC Arrests Senior Cop at Kasarani Over Sh10,000 Bribe, Threatening Suspects
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested an Inspector of Police In-Charge of Zimmerman Police Post in the Kasarani Police Division Susan Wambui Muiruri ahead of her arraignment before the Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani.
The arrest came after the Director of Public Prosecutions concurred with the recommendations of the Commission to apprehend her to face charges of soliciting and receiving a bribe of Sh10,000 from the complainant, when she served at Kasarani Police Station, in order to facilitate the release of his girlfriend who had been arrested and held there.
The suspect also said the demanded bribe was a fee to facilitate ‘erasing’ particulars of the arrested person from the “digital OB.”
She received the Sh10,000 bribe from the complainant on April 25, 2021 via M-Pesa after she freed the complainant and his kin.
Notably, according to EACC the complaint had also been put in cells after the Police Inspector accused him of “kuwa mjuaji na kuleta kichwa ngumu na mang’aa kwa polisi” when he went to inquire why his kin was arrested.
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The arrested person was working in the complainant’s Wines and Spirits Shop christened ‘Santo Marina Lounge’ in Zimmerman.
At the material time, the arrested person who was the complainant’s girlfriend ran the joint with the complainant’s full consent and support.
The complainant received a phone call from an officer attached to Zimmerman Police Post using his girlfriend’s number and was informed that the girlfriend had been arrested over alleged stealing from a customer while at the joint.
The complainant visited the Zimmerman Police Post as instructed by the Police where he learnt that his girlfriend had allegedly sold the Wines and Spirits Shop to one Dan Matiri for Sh150,000.00.
Dan was with the police officers demanding the Sh150,000.00. Being oblivious of the said allegation, the complainant requested and was allowed to confirm the allegations with his girlfriend who was held in a separate police cell.
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She confirmed that she had obtained a loan of Sh150,000.00 from Dan who was a friend but had not sold the shop. Armed with the information, the complainant demanded to see a sale agreement despite knowing very well that no one had authority to sell his shop since he was the registered and beneficial owner.
The police officers led by Police Inspector Susan Muiruri accused him of being rude and put him in a cell. He alleged to have thereafter being humiliated, harassed and psychologically tortured in an effort to make him pay Sh150,000.00.
He spent the night at the police station and was threatened with court cases and possible link to a murder investigation if he did not barge and pay Sh150,000.00 to the said Dan. The complainant bowed to pressure and paid Sh150,000.00 to Dan in order to secure his freedom, that of his girlfriend and to end the torturous episode.
The matter was thus settled.
However, the said Police Inspector further ordered him to pay her “cut” of Sh10,000 for facilitating the `negotiation.’
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The officer claimed that Kasarani Police Station had since adopted a digital OB and because the particulars of the complainant and his arrested girlfriend had since been captured, they had to be “erased” from the digital OB and this required a minimum facilitation fees of Sh10,000.
She also said that the digital system was slow and they could only be processed for release digitally, including erasing some details from the digital OB.
As such, they risked spending another night in cells if the Sh10,000 facilitation fee was not paid in order to find a way of prioritizing them in the digital system.
After payment of the demanded amount of Sh10,000.00 through her registered Safaricom Line, the “digital system” suddenly worked and they were released.
Following concurrence of the ODPP to charge her, EACC detectives arrested the suspect on Thursday July 27 to be arraigned before Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on July 28.
The charge sheet reads: “That on the 25th day of April, 2021 at Kasarani Police Station, within Nairobi City County, being a person employed by a public body to wit, National Police Service as an Inspector, you requested for a financial advantage of Sh10,000 from Juma Olunga Wakhayanga with intent that, you would improperly facilitate his release and Pamela Kajuju from police custody.”