A first year student from the Technical University of Kenya, who is accused of assaulting a traffic police officer, faces charges of assault, violent robbery, and resisting arrest.
Nineteen-year-old Ian Ngige Njoroge, who appeared before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi, pleaded not guilty to charges of robbing Corporal Jacob Ogendo a mobile phone valued at KSh50, 000 and a two-way radio battery. He also refuted the allegations of inflicting serious harm on the police officer and resisting arrest.
State Prosecutor Virginia Kariuki reported that the crimes occurred on Kamiti Road in Kasarani, Nairobi. If convicted, the suspect could face a mandatory death sentence for the robbery with violence charge. Additionally, the suspect is accused of obstructing other motorists while driving a vehicle registered as KDJ 207P under the Traffic Act.
Reportedly, he executed an unauthorized U-turn on Kamiti Road near the Mirema junction at approximately 8pm on June 2, 2024.
Additionally, he faces charges related to carrying excess passengers and disregarding instructions to take the vehicle to Kasarani Police Station. The prosecutor objected to granting him bail, asserting that the police required additional time to provide an affidavit justifying the denial.
Defense attorneys Duncan Okatch, Suyianka Lempaa, and Ken Echesa alleged that the police subjected their client to torture during his arrest at his mother’s residence. Okatch implored the court to release the accused so that he could seek medical treatment. Additionally, Lempaa asserted that their client was charged with robbery with violence in an attempt to portray him as a dangerous individual.
The magistrate’s ruling mandated that Njoroge be held in prison to facilitate his access to medication and ensure his safety, given the strained relationship between him and the police.
The video of Ian beating up the officer has gone viral and captured the attention of netizens. Ruth Nyambura Mbagara, Ian’s mother, acknowledged that her son executed an unauthorized U-turn. She revealed that the car Ian was driving was not a PSV but her own personal vehicle. Mbaraga said that she was on a business trip when her son assaulted the officer.
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She also disclosed that the police officer requested a KSh10, 000 bribe, a sum Ian, being a couldn’t afford.
Despite the boy’s attempt to raise KSh5, 000 through friends, the officer remained unyielding. This further agitated him, resulting in the physical confrontation captured on camera.
“I was surprised because I have brought my son in a Christian way. He is a boy who has gone to good schools, has grown with manners, is God-fearing, obedient, very polite at home…I have never seen him agitated. Something must have happened to that boy,” Mbagara said.
“I asked him why, he told me he wanted to bring the car back home before the time for going to church, and on his way he met the policeman. It’s true he made a U-turn; the policeman said he wanted KSh10, 000, and he told him he couldn’t raise that because he’s a student and that was his mother’s car. He told him he could raise KSh5, 000, but the policeman refused,” she added.
Mbaraga has also dismissed claims that her son was arrested at his girlfriend’s house. She disclosed that Ian was arrested at her house by a group of flying squad officers and not at his girlfriend’s place, as it was initially reported on social media.
By Frank Mugwe
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