Naivasha court jails Joshua Waiganjo for 5 years for impersonating police officer

Police impostor Joshua Waiganjo has been jailed for five years by a Naivasha court.

Mr Waiganjo was found guilty of being in illegal possession of government equipment and impersonating an assistant police commissioner.

He was convicted of wearing police uniforms without authority and impersonating a police officer and three charges of being in possession of government equipment.

In his ruling, Senior Resident Magistrate Shadrack Mwinzi said the accused would serve a sentence of five years but gave him 14 days to appeal.

Mr Waiganjo was, however, cleared of robbery with violence charges.

In his sworn evidence, Mr Waiganjo told the court that he was appointed a police reservist in 2003.

“The documents of proof were recovered from my house and never produced in court,” he said.

He said he received all uniforms and regalia from the police quarter master, insisting that he was still a police officer.

'STILL A POLICE OFFICER'

He denied that the Kenya Police Reservists Service had been disbanded, saying he was still a police officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of police.

When he was cross-examined, he said his enlisting number is 10885, which he said was assigned to him by the police service.

“The Provincial Police Officer (PPO) list of service was never produced in court,” he said.

While testifying earlier, suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police John M’Mbijiwe told the court that when he reported to work in the then Rift Valley Province in September 2012, Mr Waiganjo came to his office and introduced himself as an assistant commissioner of police.

“I knew all the assistant commissioners in the country but did not know the accused,” he told the court.

Mr M’Mbijiwe said he called an outgoing PPO, who told him that Mr Waiganjo was in charge of transport during the burial of the late Vice-President Kijana Wamalwa.

PERSONAL SERVICE NUMBER

Under cross-examination, he told the court that he did not ask the accused for his personal service number.

“The then commissioner of police Mathew Iteere did not give official communication that the accused was a police officer,” Mr M’Mbijiwe told the court.

Mr Waiganjo has been behind bars after his cover was blown for having impersonated a senior police officer.

He is yet to finish a two-year sentence that he is serving at the King’ong’o GK Prison.

He had served another two-year sentence at the Naivasha Maximum Prison for another offence of being in illegal possession of government equipment.

He is facing two other charges, together with Mr M’Mbijiwe and former Anti-Stock Theft Unit Commandant Michael Remi Ngugi.