Woman suspect in Hafsa kidnap tortured naked by male cops — lawyer

The female suspect in the kidnapping of Hafsa Mohamed was seriously tortured while she was naked by male police officers, her lawyer told a court on Monday.

Through lawyer Danston Omari, Hafsa Abdi, 21, said there was no female police officer present during her arrest, which violates standing orders on how female suspects should be treated.

“My client was arrested at odd hours around 3am after male police officers stormed a lounge where she was sleeping and naked with somebody else where they had their 'safari rally'," the lawyer said.

"That's a serious intrusion of privacy, especially in a lounging room.” he said, adding that torture is a crime.

Abdi is a suspect in the kidnaping of her friend Mohamed.

Abdi and Jackson Njogu were arrested on Sunday at a lounge in Kinangop.

Omari said said his client alleged to have been beaten by a bottle and strangled, evident by marks on her thighs, breast and neck.

Hafsa and Njogu were arraigned on Monday before Makadara chief magistrate Heston Nyaga under a miscellaneous application. Another suspect has been arraigned and police are seeking more suspects.

Police said Mohamed was lured by her friend's promises of being incorporated in a watermelon business. 

Investigating officer Mary Wandia sought 14 more days to detain the suspects. She said multiple locations were involved, the victim was still on medication and had not recorded a statement with the police.

She said an identification parade had not been conducted.

But Omari objected, saying the victim had been giving interview to print and broadcast media and clearly was not traumatised. There was no point in an identification parade since the suspects' pictures had already been published and aired.

He asked why she couldn't give a statement to the police

Police said the suspects, with others still at large, took the victim to Kayole Junction, pretending she was to be incorporated in a watermelon supply business.

On arriving at Kayole Junction, the two women entered a shop for a short prayer. As they left the shop, two men abducted the victim and took her to a secret location where they kept her in an empty water tank.

Omari asked the court to issue an order for her client to be taken to hospital and a proper medical report be produced.

He further asked court to issue a summons to the Buruburu CS to come and shed light on the allegations of torture.

The victim's lawyer Ishmael Nyaribo and state prosecutor Cosmas Kilambyo supported the request for more time.

"The suspects were arrested far away from the scene of crime, an indication that they do not have a fixed place of abode," Kilambyo said.

The two bring to three the number of suspects who have been arrested.

One suspect Syrus Ndungu is being detained at Buruburu police station after a custodial order was granted last week.

“On the issue of the victim being traumatised, we urge this court to balance the scales of justice as my client is 19 times more traumatised from police torture," Omari said.

Nyaga said he would make a ruling on Tuesday afternoon.

(Edited by V. Graham)