Four police officers charged over Ksh.4.2M robbery released on bail

Four police officers suspected of involvement in several robberies were on Friday arraigned in Makadara, where the court was told they had trailed a businessman in what investigators termed an abduction and robbery with violence incident.

The court granted the accused persons bond despite opposition from the prosecution.

The four suspects, who are serving police officers, were presented at the Makadara Law Courts shortly after being re-arrested by detectives from Kajiado, where they had faced similar charges on Thursday.

They are accused of trailing a businessman and robbing him of over Ksh.4.2 million.

The businessman was abducted moments after he had made a huge withdrawal from a local bank. The suspects, allegedly well aware of his movements and the cash he had, trailed him in a vehicle, abducted him and later robbed him of the cash at gunpoint.

They were in police uniform and claimed they were pursuing the complainant based on prior information that he was transporting drugs in his vehicle. They blindfolded him, assaulted him and took away the Ksh.4.2 million.

The court was told there was a need to detain the accused persons as they were facing similar cases of armed robbery in different police stations across the country.

However, Makadara Resident Magistrate Maryleen Cherotich released them on cash bail, citing a lack of compelling reasons from the prosecution to hold the suspects in custody.

“In my view, there are no compelling reasons to continue detaining the accused… the respondents will be released on a bond of Ksh.200,000 or one as surety or an alternative of Ksh.100,000 cash bail with an alternative of a contact person who is a police officer…the respondents shall not interfere with this investigation, they shall not leave the jurisdiction, they shall report to the DCI Embakasi every day, they shall not contact the complainant and witnesses," stated the magistrate.

Investigators say they will continue pursuing the matter, even as they urge other complainants who may have had similar encounters with the suspects to come forward.