Policeman to face murder charge over his friend's death
An AK-47 assault rifle.
A police officer who allegedly shot and killed a trade late last year will answer a murder charge on Friday.
Senior Resident Magistrate Jane Kamau ordered the suspect, Edgar Mokamba, to appear before Justice Hedwig Ong'udi for formal charging.
A state prosecutor told Ms Kamau that police have concluded investigation into the December 30 incident and “the suspect has been declared mentally sound by a psychiatrist and therefore fit to answer a charge of murder.”
Mokamba, who allegedly fired ten bullets at Zachary Makuto Simwa using his AK-47 rifle at the parking bay of Nyari Police Patrol Base in Westlands, Nairobi, apologised to the family of the victim, his lawyer said.
“My client is very sorry that he shot at Makuto, his friend of many years. He has asked me to sincerely and profusely apologise to the family of the deceased. He regrets the shooting,” lawyer Danstan Omari told Ms Kamau.
Mr Omari added, “Mokamba says he did not intend to execute his bossom friend. He mistakenly mishandled the AK-47 rifle and in the process shot at the deceased.”
Corporal Charles Odhiambo, the officer who investigated the incident said Makuto drove into the Nyari patrol base and was shortly joined by the suspect.
He said the shooting occurred at around 9.30pm.
Corporal Odhiambo said that the officer in charge of Nyari Patrol Base Sergeant Solomon Maundu arrived at the scene of the shooting where he found Mokamba appearing shaken and confused.
He immediately disarmed him and placed him in the cells.
Sergeant Maundu recovered 10 spent cartridges from the scene which have already been subjected to ballistic examination alongside the AK-47 rifle.
