Driver denies attack on policeman

Mr Richard Towet, at the Makadara Law Courts on January 19, 2011 where he denied assaulting a traffic police officer on January 12, 2011. Photo/SULEIMAN MBATIAH/NATION 

By RICHARD MUNGUTI rmunguti@ke.nationmedia.comPosted Wednesday, January 19 2011 at 21:22

A truck driver accused of assaulting a police officer was on Wednesday released on Sh30,000 bail.

The man appeared before resident magistrate Daniel Kinaro facing six charges.

Mr Richard Kiplasoi arap Towett is accused of assaulting Police Constable Evans Makori and resisting arrest, among other offences.

“You are accused of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer discharging his official duties. What do you say?” Mr Kinaro asked the accused .

“I am not guilty. For the 42 years I have lived, I have neither been on the wrong side of the law nor spent any second in a police cell over any offence,” Mr Towett told the court.

“Keep that for your defence when the case resumes on March 2,” the magistrate told the accused. The Prosecution has lined up five witnesses in the case.

The magistrate granted the accused’s plea to be supplied with witness statements to prepare his defence.

The assault charges stem from an incident where a man was caught on camera arguing with a traffic police officer who attempted to board a lorry.

The video, which has featured prominently on YouTube and has been widely distributed on social network sites, shows the man knock down the police officer and step on his neck.

The man drove off in a lorry but is again shown subdued by law enforcement officers. In the same court, two police officers denied violently robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint.

Constables Jonathan Shirengo and Fergus Falex Mesa of Kasarani Police Station, who appeared before principal magistrate Teresia Murigi, denied robbing Mr Evans Nyakundi of Sh3,800 and a mobile phone at Kahawa Sukari and Thika, respectively.

Ms Murigi warned them that “the sentence provided for is death on conviction.”

Guarantees release on bond

But the officers told the magistrate that the new Constitution guarantees release on bond. “Every offender under the new Constitution can be admitted to bond. Capital offenders are now allowed to deposit securities in court and attend court from their homes,” Mr Shirengo told Ms Murigi.

He also applied to be supplied with witness statements at the state’s expense. Ms Murigi denied the suspects bond and directed them to renew their bail plea before the trial court on March 17. She also directed that they be furnished with witness statements within 14 days.