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According to a medical report, the accused was fit to take a plea as he was aware of the charges facing him.
- A witness said that the officer first shot in the air three times and when the senior came out to enquire what was going on, he was shot three times.
Image: George Murage
A junior police officer accused of killing his boss in Naivasha two weeks ago admits to opening fire, but said he was not aware that his senior died from gunshot wounds.
In a psychiatric report, corporal Joseph Kamau admitted to using alcohol frequently due to stress at home.
The officer, who is accused of killing sergeant Ayub Polo by shooting him in Kedong ranch AP camp on the December 25, was confirmed fit to stand trial.
This came as police withdrew a miscellaneous application which they had applied in court seeking to hold the accused for eight days to finish their investigations.
According to a medical report from a consultant psychiatrist Dr S.W Karanja from Gilgil Subcounty Hospital, the accused was fit to take a plea as he was aware of the charges facing him.
He said that during his analysis, there was no psychopathology noted, adding that the accused admitted shooting his senior after an altercation though he wasn’t aware if he died.
“I found a well-kept adult who is calm and co-operative. His memory, judgment, abstract thinking, attention and concentration were intact and he is fit to stand trial,” the doctor said.
The report further said the accused was an introvert who had been arrested two times for being late during working hours.
Naivasha chief magistrate Nathan Lutta Shiundu closed the miscellaneous application and directed that the accused be charged on January 7 at the High Court with murder.
A postmortem conducted on the body last week established that the senior officer was shot three times and died from excessive bleeding.
According to an autopsy conducted by government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu in a private mortuary in Mai Mahiu town, all the bullets exited.
The report said that the deceased was shot on the head, shoulder and leg leading to massive bleeding that led to the collapse of the internal organs.
Trouble started on the evening of Christmas Day when the officer returned to the camp after a drinking spree in the nearby Mai Mahiu town leading to a confrontation with his senior.
A witness said the officer first shot in the air three times and when the senior came out to enquire what was going on, he was shot three times.
“The senior officer died on the spot as the suspect turned to another officer who managed to escape under the cover of darkness,” he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)