Woman beaten by Laikipia AP officer for allegedly misplacing handcuffs cries for justice

Mary Njeri, who claims an AP officer beat and seriously injured her, nurses her injuries at her home in Mwituria, Laikipia County, on September 25, 2016. She wants justice done in her case. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The officer is said to have rounded up a group of villagers and led them to storm Ms Njeri’s home.
  • The woman and her son were accused of stealing two sacks of beans from an in-law.
  • Laikipia Central OCPD, Ben Changulo, said that the matter had been reported but attributed the slow progress to the woman’s unavailability.
  • He, however, maintained that investigations are underway and that due legal process would be followed.

A woman in Mwituria, Laikipia County is seeking justice after an Administration Police (AP) officer allegedly broke her arm after he misplaced his official handcuffs in her house.

The officer, only identified as Jeff, attacked 35-year-old Mary Njeri and her 13-year-old son on August 6, 2016 in their house after they were accused of stealing two sacks of beans from an in-law.

The relative had earlier reported to the policeman, who works under the Ngobit Police Station, that two sacks had been stolen from his home, prompting a search in several homes in the area.

The search ended in Ms Njeri’s home, where the officer found dry bean leaves.

He claimed this would be taken as an exhibit and proof that the woman had stolen the beans.

At the time, both the woman and her husband were away from home tending to their farm.

SON ARRESTED

Their son, however, found the plain-clothes officer in their compound at around 4pm.

“He instructed me to carry the leaves and follow him to the police station,” said the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

However, the boy was never taken to the police station but was instead frog-marched around Kona Mbaya shopping centre until 9pm.

The officer is said to have rounded up a group of villagers and led them to storm Ms Njeri’s home.

The officer, who was allegedly drunk, started roughing up the woman and her son, accusing them of stealing the beans.

Matters, however, got out of hand when the officer unknowingly dropped police handcuffs issued to him during the ensuing confrontation.

He noticed the cuffs were missing when he wanted to handcuff the woman.

“He said that I had stolen the handcuffs from him and he started dragging me around as he beat me up telling me to produce them,” said Ms Njeri.

He is said to have stripped the woman naked in front of her teenage son as he dragged her and beat her up mercilessly.

“He kept saying that I was hiding the handcuffs under my dress so he removed my clothes and dragged me outside,” said the woman.

The residents at the time were busy tearing down the house and killing chickens.

A kitchen and a section of the home were demolished in the attack.

A senior AP officer later came to the rescue of the woman.

“When the senior officer arrived they immediately stopped beating me,” she said.

The woman was taken to Ngobit Police Station, having already suffered a broken arm, a concussion and multiple cuts in her legs and hands.

Her husband, Charles Mwangi, who was away during the attack was alerted by their son and they rushed to the police station to follow up on the matter.

“My son told me that they had been attacked and that my wife had been taken by police officers,” said Mr Mwangi.

It was not until 4am that Mwangi was allowed to see his wife.

“She was unconscious and still bleeding when we saw her. The officers noticed her condition was bad and allowed us to rush her to hospital,” said Mr Mwangi.

TAKEN TO NYERI HOSPITAL

She received first aid treatment at a local dispensary and was referred to the Nyeri County Referral Hospital.

Ms Njeri regained consciousness six days later while in the hospital and was discharged four days after that.

She reported the case to the police after being discharged but she insists that no action was taken.

“I reported at the Ngobit Police Station and they told me to wait. I waited for three weeks but no follow-up was done by the police,” she said.

Ms Njeri was also denied a medical examination form (P3 form) at the station in what is seen as an attempt to cover up the matter.

The accusations of stealing beans from her in-law were also withdrawn and she was never booked in the station’s occurrence book (OB).

Police only started following up on the matter after it was highlighted in local media stations.

On Sunday police officers picked her up from her home to record a statement.

Laikipia Central OCPD, Ben Changulo, said that the matter had been reported but attributed the slow progress to the woman’s unavailability.

“Every case is investigated according to its merit and when the complainant is not available then it becomes harder,” said the police boss.

He, however, maintained that investigations are underway and that due legal process would be followed.