Six police officers linked to murder of Kianjokoma brothers arraigned

The six police officers linked to the murder of two brothers in Kianjokoma, Embu County, were on Tuesday arraigned in a Nairobi court.

The six; Corporal Benson Mbuthia, Corporal Consolata Kariuki, Constable Martin Wanyama, Constable Lilian Cherono, Constable Nicholus Sang, and Constable James Mwaniki, were presented before Milimani Law Courts Magistrate Daniel Ndugi.

The prosecution, led by Lydia Nyamosi, sought to have the officers detained for 14 days pending investigations.

“There is need to protect the witnesses so that they can provide more evidence to investigators. There is need to extract data from communication devices from respondents and the victims,” said the prosecution.

“We are requesting that the six be placed at capitol hill police station for 14 days to enable the investigation team to complete the investigations. There has been tension within the community and a lot of concern in the social media indicating that it’s a matter of public interest.”

The prosecution said the duration sought for investigations to be concluded is because it is a complex matter and “we need time without any interference.”

Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi said the six officers face possible charges of murder.

Corporal Benson, one of the suspects, objected to the application to detain them saying for the past two weeks none of them have interfered with witnesses.

Six police officers linked to the murder of 2 brothers, Benson Njiru & Emmanuel Mutura in Kianjokoma, Embu county, arrive at Milimani law courts. The officers are Cpl Benson Mputhia, Cpl Consolata Kariuki, PC Martin Wanyama, PC Lilian Cherono, PC Nicholus Sang & PC James Mwaniki pic.twitter.com/hgEs0O0hIz

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 17, 2021