Officers accused of killing man in hospital granted bond

Inspector Gilbert Maina (left) and detective Paul Odoyo Ngoma of the Kitui Directorate of Criminal Investigations in the Kitui High Court on January 10, 2017. PHOTO | THOMAS WAITA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • They allegedly committed the offence on August 25 last year with their colleagues, who are still at large.
  • Mr Ngandi was killed by gunmen under a hail of bullets at his hospital bed while receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.

Two police officers accused of shooting dead a man at Mwingi Level Four Hospital have each been released on a Sh2 million bond.

Inspector Gilbert Maina and detective Paul Odoyo Ngoma were granted bond by Kitui presiding judge Lillian Mutende.

The judge said she granted bail to the accused because prosecutors had failed to convince her in their arguments that the two would interfere with investigations, intimidate or threaten witnesses or skip court proceedings if released on bond.

The officers have been in police custody since their arrest in August last year.

The detectives, who are attached to Kitui’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations, denied the murder charges on December 6 last year.

They are accused of killing Fredrick Ngandi. They allegedly committed the offence on August 25 last year with their colleagues Daniel Thuku and Vincent Kipng’etich Rono, who are still at large.

The court also directed prosecutors to furnish the defence counsel with all witness statements.

Mr Ngandi was killed by gunmen under a hail of bullets at his hospital bed while receiving treatment for gunshot wounds suspected to have been inflicted earlier by the same assailants.

The victim was reportedly abducted from his house at Majengo estate, Kitui town, on the night of August 24 by four men claiming to be police officers and forced into an unidentified white car.