A police officer on Thursday made a passionate plea to a magistrate to save his job, telling the court that a jilted lover was after his life and wanted him sacked.
Fred Mwela was due to be charged with threatening to kill Grace Wanjiku at Githogoro within Westlands in Nairobi.
His lawyer Danstan Omari however asked the court to defer the plea-taking, saying pleading to the charges would mean automatic interdiction of the officer.
The state also wants Mwela charged with being in possession of a gun without lawful authority.
However, Omari asked Milimani senior principal magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi to defer the plea-taking so his client could seek a review of the decision to charge with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
In laying out his case, Mwela through Omari told the court that he has been cohabiting with the complainant and that the woman was keen on ensuring he loses his job after he rejected her proposal for marriage.
Omari said Mwela was married with two children but his wife died.
“That was earlier when he was still attached to Runda police station. He was then transferred to Sololo in Marsabit county where he works,” Omari said.
He told the court that Mwela took his two children to his mother in Bomet county before he reported for work at his new station. Occasionally, when he’s off duty he travels to Nairobi and stays in Wanjiku’s house.
“A problem however arose after the suspect rejected the complainant’s proposal to replace his wife who died. That problem escalated when the suspect found a roll of bhang in the house and shared the same information with the complainant’s parents. She swore to revenge,” Omari said.
Omari said the woman set up the officer for the charges and that he was not aware of the gun authorities claim was found in his possession.
“One day after coming from Sololo, he received a call from detectives who wanted to meet him at a petrol station. He went and was arrested before being released on Sh10,000 police bail.
Omari told the court the DPP may not have been aware of the suspect’s side of the story and that it was important that plea-taking was deferred as they sought a review of the decision to charge.
“Your honour, taking plea will cause an immediate interdiction of the suspect, being a police officer. It is very difficult to get reinstated to the payroll once interdicted and it is for this reason that we plead with the court to save the suspect’s job,” Omari submitted.
The suspect sought 14 days but the court granted only three, with the magistrate citing the gravity of the charges.
“I therefore order that the suspect be remanded at Capitol Hill police station until Monday August 11 when the matter will be mentioned,” the court ruled.
