Mombasa Director of Criminal Investigations Officer (DCIO) who was arrested and detained after her gun was found with her husband in Nairobi, was freed on bond on Friday after spending four days in police custody.
Ms Bridget Wanjiku Kamau, the Mombasa DCIO who was cuddling her three-month-old baby when she arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts, was freed on Sh100,000 cash bail.
Appearing before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate David Ndungi on Thursday, Ms Kamau pleaded to be freed on bond to protect her child from contracting an ailment while in custody.
Mr Ndungi said the application by the DPP to detain the accused, her husband and two others lacked merit as they had been in custody outside the 24- hour rule.
Police bond
“The Constitution anticipates that a suspect be freed on police bond or arraigned in court before the lapse of 24 hours,” Mr Ndungi stated.
The court concurred with defence lawyer Sheila Mengesa that the rights of the suspects had been violated since they had been in custody since August 17, 2021. She said that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, young children and suspects should not be held together.
Ms Kamau was arrested from her Mombasa station and flown to Nairobi where she joined her husband Geoffrey Maina, Chris Musyoka and Lucia Wanjiku who had been arrested over illegal arms and suspected stolen motor vehicles.
State prosecutor Abel Omariba said the four were being investigated for illegal possession of firearms, preparation to commit forgery, impersonation of public officers and giving false information and should not be released.
Mr Omariba said investigators sought to establish how an official firearm issued to Ms Kamau ended up in the hands of her husband Maina in Nairobi.
Suspicious car
During the arrest of Mr Musyoka and Ms Wanjiku, Mr Omariba said police spotted a suspicious car, a black Toyota Landcruiser with no front number plate on Ngong Road.
Upon interrogation, Mr Mwangangi disclosed that the vehicle belonged to Mr Maina. The police conducted a search and recovered two firearms.
One of the firearms, a Ceska Pistol had its serial number erased while the other bore a serial number resembling a government of Kenya firearm.
The court heard that Mr Maina drove into Kilimani Police Station in a silver Mercedes Benz car with no front number plate to establish why Mr Musyoka had been arrested.
Upon conducting a search, the police recovered a magazine for the Ceska Pistol with seven rounds of ammunition, police pocket phone and two handcuffs from the vehicle.
Mr Maina claimed the firearms belonged to his wife. He claimed to be working for the President Delivery Unit. The court ordered the suspects to report daily to the investigating officer for questioning until August 30, 2021. BY DAILY NATION