Nakuru: Police officer who shot dead two people over Ksh.14K bar bill detained for 7 days

The police officer who shot four people, killing two, over a Ksh.14,250 bill at Vegas Club in Nakuru last month has been detained for seven more days.

Constable Nicholas Musyoka Musau, based at the Nakuru Central Police Station, was on Wednesday arraigned at Nakuru High Court and charged with the murder of Ann Maina and Laura Kaswira.

The officer is alleged to have committed the crime on the night of December 12, 2023, at Loritas Liquor Club, popularly known as Vegas Club.

According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Musau was allegedly uncomfortable paying the bill after merrymaking with his friends at the joint. His friends are said to have dispersed, leaving him with the bill.

“He consumed drinks and/or enjoyed food with friends at the club after which he shot four people, two of them succumbed to bullet injuries and the other two survived with serious wounds,” said the prosecution in a statement on Wednesday.

The prosecution opposed an application for his release on bond or bail and the matter was adjourned to January 17, 2024 to allow the probation department to submit the pre-bail report that will guide the court in determining the bond terms.

This comes after the ODPP earlier stated that Constable Musau will be charged with murder, noting that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) had gathered enough evidence against the suspect to prosecute the case.

“Having reviewed the inquiry file, the DPP is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to sustain a charge of murder. The DPP has therefore directed that the suspect be charged with two counts of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code today, 10th January 2024 at Nakuru High Court, Nakuru County,” the prosecution said in the statement.

The incident received condemnation from Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, who ordered a probe into the matter.

"If a police officer like the one here in Nakuru takes a gun and goes into a club, drinks, refuses to pay the bill and starts to kill people, we have no business with such kind of officers," Kindiki said.

"When someone has been brought the bill, but they have started killing people...we are not going to wait for IPOA, he must go to court," added Koome.