Bahati MP in police custody after denying court charges

Bahati MP Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri has been remanded in police custody after he denied five counts of assaulting a traffic police officer and defying lawful orders on Thursday evening.

Mr Ngunjiri denied that he assaulted Inspector Maria Mutheu injuring her seriously when a skirmish erupted during an evening rush near Kanu House along Kenyatta Avenue in Nakuru.

Resident Magistrate Rita Amwayi released the first time MP on a cash bail of Sh150,000 but ordered that he spends the night at Nakuru Central Police Station to facilitate completion of investigations.

The lawmaker could lose his parliamentary seat if the jail term exceeds six months as the charges preferred against him carry a fine of up to Sh1 million or a 10 year jail term or both.

The court heard that on August 15, the MP obstructed a police officer Inspector Maria Mutheu from carrying out her lawful duty and that he resisted arrest after the officer ordered him to comply and have handcuffs tied around his wrists.

The court heard that the MP also assaulted the MP seriously wounding her and she had to be referred to a specialised medical centre for further treatment.

The MP also faced more traffic charges that as a driver of a Nissan E-Trail vehicle, he caused obstruction by parking the vehicle in the middle of the road and that he failed to heed a verbal warning from Mrs Mutheu that he gets his car out of the road to allow free flow of traffic during the rush hour.

The court heard that the MP also failed to take due caution of his own safety and that of other motorist by driving a defective motor vehicle which had a cracked windscreen.

The court ordered that the criminal and traffic cases be heard in October 24 and October 1 respectively.