• Out-of-court settlement. If he is not paid, Maina will pursue legal action against the three officers.
• The CBD socks seller said askaris demanded Sh100 but he only had Sh20.
Image: COURTESY
Three county Inspectorate Officers have agreed to pay Sh427,200 as compensation to a hawker they attacked, knocking out five teeth.
To avoid prosecution and save their jobs, Humprey Muswangi, Hassan Chege and Dennis Macharia agreed on Tuesday to an out-of-court settlement.
On July 2, a hawker identified as Anthony Maina was accosted by the askaris. Maina, who sells socks in the central business district, was later brutalised by the officers, losing his teeth.
He said the askaris demanded a Sh100 bribe but he only had Sh20, so he was beaten.
The attack increased pressure on City Hall and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services to rein in rogue city Inspectorate officers manhandling hawkers.
In a signed agreement, Maina's lawyer Harrison Musyoka said the askaris accepted personal responsibility for the assault.
Musyoka wrote a demand letter to the Nairobi government, calling on it to accept responsibility for the assault.
“Humprey Muswangi, Hassan Chege and Dennis Macharia are the respondents in this matter of assault, having accepted their personal liability jointly and severally over their assault on Anthoney Maina and have offered to settle this matter out of court," the agreement reads.
The compensation includes loss and damage of five teeth at Sh60,000 each, a broken jaw connection at Sh56,000, transportation costs Sh4,000, food Sh37,800, rent Sh15,000 and clinic visits Sh14,400.
According to the agreement, Sh160,000 was to be paid on Tuesday in cash, while Sh50,000 was to be paid on Wednesday through mobile money.
"The final payment of the balance Sh217,200 shall be paid on or before August 17, 2021,” the agreement reads.
If the officers fail to comply with the terms, Maina will take legal recourse.
Rogue askaris have been a problem.
Raising the issue before the Nairobi Assembly, Deputy Majority Whip Waithera Chege deplored the increasing cases of arbitrary arrests, harassment and extortion of hawkers by the 'kanjos'.
The Nairobi South MCA accused officers of meting out brutality instead of arresting and having them arraigned as required by law
The Inspectorate officers are charged with maintaining law and order by enforcing Nairobi by-laws, however, many are known for violence and extortion.
To reform the askaris, the NMS has partnered with the National Police Service to train at least 1,000 of the officers in modern skills to transform the sector into a service, not only an enforcement unit.
(Edited by V. Graham)