A Mombasa court has ordered the reinstatement of two officers dismissed for blocking President Uhuru Kenyatta’s motorcade last year.
Labour Court judge James Rika yesterday said the two were unfairly dismissed without a fair trial.
Constable Joel Atuti and Corporal Barnaba Ruto were dismissed in January last year for blocking Uhuru’s motorcade on the Sabasaba-Nyali road.
They were arrested and remanded for five days after they were denied bond as their cases continued. They were accused of receiving a bribe from a matatu driver, hence, the parking of the patrol car in the middle of the road.
They challenged their dismissal and asked the court to order their reinstatement. Rika said it was evident that the officers were dismissed while in the line of duty and never intended to put the President’s life at risk.
He said according to the driver of the matatu, who allegedly gave the bribe, the officers were trying to arrest him for picking and dropping passengers in an undesignated area.
“The driver denied giving any bribe to the officers,” Rika said. He said a presidential motorcade official had testified that he had witnessed a tussle between a matatu driver and the officers.
Rika said there was no evidence that the motorcade was blocked by the officers, who had parked their patrol vehicle in the middle of the road.
He said other officers who testified said there was no prior communication the presidential motorcade would be using the road and, therefore, police should clear all obstacles.
Rika said a driver on the motorcade told the court he paused because of the potholes and not because he was blocked by the officers.
He said two out of the five vehicles in the motorcade had used the road uninterrupted and it was unlikely they had any bad intentions.
