Although Chapter 84 of the National Police Service Act outlines the circumstances under which a policeman can discharge his firearm, cases of rogue off-duty officers killing innocent Kenyans have been on the rise.
A case in point is the recent shooting of Makadara Law Courts Magistrate Monica Kivuti by the Londiani Officer Commanding Station, Chief Inspector Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto , after his wife was denied bond.
The magistrate succumbed to her injuries two days later, sparking protests from the Judiciary and the Law Society of Kenya. According to Vincent Chahale, a Senior Manager, Justice System Interventions at International Justice Mission Kenya, police officers should avoid using firearms against minors and unarmed persons.
“Regulations on the use of firearms should be amended and improved from time to time to suit the evolving circumstances. Preservation of life should be of importance. Also, when an officer intends to use a firearm, they should identify themselves and give clear warning of their intention except in impracticable situations.
Senseless use of firearms intended to intimidate, harass, harm, or kill, should be discouraged and swift action taken against such officers to safeguard responsible use of force that is proportionate to the intended objective,” he says.
The National Police Service Act, Sixth Schedule, spells out circumstances under which firearms should be used. The Act says an officer shall always attempt to use non-violent means first and force may only be employed when non-violent means are ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.
On May 25, Anthony Njomo Kiunu, 36, an electrician at the US Embassy in Nairobi, was out with friends having a drink at a Kiambu nightclub. Njomo was on his mobile phone at 3am, a few metres from the Quickin Lounge when a bullet discharged from an off-duty officer’s gun killed him on the spot.
Njomo was shot in the back of the head after a scuffle ensued inside the bar between two groups, in which the cop was involved. In the scuffle, the policeman fired several bullets, one of which killed Njomo.
Officers from Kiambu police station who responded to the incident reported that the victim was shot in the back and the bullet exited through the chest. The officer’s gun was confiscated and taken for ballistic examination. The victim’s body was taken to Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary. Njomo left behind a pregnant wife and a two-and-half-year-old son.
Kiambu County commander Michael Muchiri confirmed the arrest of the officer and confiscation of his firearm. “Today, we have apprehended a third suspect who is a serving officer and a gun which is said to have been fired to kill the young man has also been confiscated,” Muchiri said then. On June 2, another off-duty officer travelled all the way from Todonyang in Turkana County to Cheranganyi Forest Station in Elgeyo Marakwet, killed two forest officers and injured the third before shooting himself dead. Administration police officer Evans Kimutai travelled for 300 kilometres from Todonyang police station to his girlfriend’s workplace at the Cheranganyi Forest Station and accused her colleagues of interfering with their relationship.
The couple had on several occasions engaged in altercations, forcing the forest station’s managers to ban the AP officer from the station. He shot rangers Abdallah Dzabo Kitolle, 22, and Marion Jerono , 20, dead and seriously injured Monica Kilonzi, who was shot in the upper right side hand and chest.
His girlfriend was not at the station at the time of the shooting. Elgeyo Marakwet County Police Commander Peter Mulinge said Kimutai was heavily armed. On June 13, Chief Inspector Kipruto stormed a makeshift Makadara Law Courts tent and shot Kivuti after she denied his wife bail. He was countered and shot dead by another officer. Kipruto’s wife, Jennifer Wairimu, who was facing charges of obtaining Sh2.9 million through deceit, had failed to appear in court seven times, forcing the magistrate to issue warrants of arrest.
Wairimu had initially been granted bail. When she finally appeared in court on June 13, the magistrate denied her bail and directed that she be detained at Lang’ata Women’s Prison until the next court appearance after she allegedly presented falsified medical reports, which her lawyers claimed were given by the accused and her husband. The infuriated husband stormed the open court Number 9 and engaged court orderlies in an altercation before he shot the magistrate in the chest and thigh. She died of her injuries two days later.
Police officers Augustine Michael Kithumbi, Maureen Lepes and Eunice Macharia were injured in the eye, leg and left hand, respectively. No one is allowed to enter the court premises while armed except officers and prison warders accredited to provide security at the courts.
On December 12, 2023, police constable Nicholas Musau, while off-duty, reportedly shot four people at Loritas Liquor Club, popularly known as Vegas Club, located in Nakuru town’s Kaptembwa area. Among his victims were Ann Maina and Laura Kwasira, who succumbed to their bullet injuries while two others, Benjamin Kote and Edwin Apungana, survived but with serious injuries. The officer, who was attached to Nakuru Central Police Station, is said to have fired indiscriminately in the club after a dispute over a bill.
The rogue officer, who had been celebrating his birthday with friends at the bar, was uncomfortable paying the bill of Sh14,250. He was arrested and is currently facing two counts of murder at the Nakuru High Court in Criminal Case no. E002 of 2024, where several witnesses have testified. He also faces three counts at the Nakuru Chief Magistrates Courts of Attempted murder, misusing a firearm and handling a firearm while drunk in Criminal case no. E128 of 2024.
The International Justice Mission (IJM) represents the victims in both cases, which are scheduled to come up in court on September 30 and October 7.
In yet another incident, an officer identified as Edward Munjalo, reportedly confronted and shot William Mwangi Kimani seven times at close range as he reversed out of a Limuru club’s parking lot in August 2017 at about 3.30am.
It was reported that Kimani, a Jubilee political aspirant, had been drinking with his friend only identified as Mbui at Club U-Turn, when another reveler forcefully snatched his beer and drunk it. When Mbui asked the man to pay for the beer, a fight broke out and the man was forcefully removed from the bar. He, however, returned and continued with the fight.
During the scuffle, Munjalo was hit with a bottle on the forehead and although Kimani was not the one responsible, the angry cop followed him into the club’s parking lot and shot him seven times as he reversed the car. The victim’s father, Joseph Mwangi, reported the matter. IJM picked up the case. On May 2, the court found the officer guilty and convicted him to 30 years in prison. The judge observed that as an officer, he intentionally shot the deceased seven times to kill. It showed malice aforethought.
In another incident in Kiambu, the manager of Riverside Bar and restaurant, Johnson Kesi Ndungu, reported to police that on October 3, 2020, at about 2.30am, an officer, Corporal Daniel Kinyanjui Wainaina, 41, well-known to him as Dennoh, arrived in the said club within Kiambu town and accosted a guard, John Walubengo Makanga, 32, who was on night duty.
Cpl Wainaina was attached to the then-Githunguri MP Gabriel Kago as his personal security. When the guard informed the policeman that the club had closed and he could not be allowed in, the infuriated officer reportedly drew out a pistol and shot the guard twice at close range. One bullet hit Makanga in the chest and another and in the left leg. The officer then went down the stairs and fled the scene. The victim was rushed to Radiant Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
The officer was traced and arrested at his residence within Ngegu area and the murder weapon, a CZESKA pistol S/NO KE AP F9526 loaded with 12 rounds of 9 mm, was recovered. The suspect was arraigned in Kiambu High Court on October 19, 2020, for plea taking and the case is still pending at Kiambu Law Courts as Criminal case no. 39 of 2020.
Then there is the case of Arthur Gathagu Kamau, who was allegedly shot dead by Administration police officer Ahmed Ali Noor at a Gatuanyaga village chang’aa den in Thika East on May 26, 2013. Kamau and his four friends had gathered at a homestead to enjoy their tipple when the officer arrived at the scene accompanied by his child. Noor asked the four where the homestead owner was and he was informed that he had left briefly.
The officer, who was not in uniform, then drew his pistol, cocked it and ordered the four to stay still. However, a scared Kamau took off, prompting Noor to shoot at him but missed. Two other men, Francis Nyoike and John Njoroge Ngaruiya, also ran away but heard a second gunshot behind them.
On returning to the homestead later, they discovered that their friend, Arthur Gathagu Kamau, had been shot in the head and died. The suspect was charged at Murang’a High Court on May 27, 2013, and the case was later transferred to Kiambu High Court in 2016 vide HCCR No. 56 of 2016. The prosecution closed their case on May 29, 2024.
