Man Who Assaulted A Police Officer Released On Ksh.700K Bond

Ian Njoroge, the man seen in a viral video beating a traffic police officer in Mirema, has been granted Ksh. 700,000 bond.

This comes after the Milimani Law Courts gave probation authorities until 2 p.m. on Friday to produce a report on the case, failing which they would decide on his bail application.

The probation had requested seven further days to file their submissions.

The court concluded that Njoroge's robbery with violence accusation is unlawful since the High Court pronounced section 96 (2) of the Penal Code, which is the basis for the offense, unconstitutional.

The court also noted that the prosecution's argument that Njoroge should not be released on bail or bond because he is a flight risk is unrealistic and unsupported by facts.

On Wednesday, the prosecution sought the court to refuse Njoroge's bail/bond, citing, among other reasons, an alleged imminent threat to his safety resulting from the significant public outrage that followed the incident.

"That due to the publicity of the matter, the situation on the ground is hostile towards the accused person. There is imminent danger to the accused person due to public agitation," DCI Investigating Officer Josephat Rotich said in an affidavit.

The prosecution highlighted Njoroge's tendency to tamper with witnesses if he was let out.

"There is a likelihood of the accused person to interfere with major witnesses. Some of whom were captured through social media and are physically well known to the accused," the prosecution argued.

"After the incident the accused person didn't report to the station but he instead went into hiding until he was sought by officers and arrested from his hiding place. Therefore he is a flight risk," the DCI investigating officer said.