UNABLE TO WAIT UNTIL 2027 ! -POLICE BRUTALITY AND THE ELUSIVE JUSTICE
One day in the year 2018, a group of Morans within Marigat in Baringo county allegedly invaded the home of a fellow Moran in a place called Eldume, purposely to discipline him for the crime of violating the cultural Moranism code of conduct.
The said Moran had refused to honor a summon given to him,asking him to present himself before a disciplinary committee appointed by the members of his age set .To prove its own power ,the disciplinary committee allegedly made a trip to the home of their errant member, purposely to revoke his membership but when they reached his home in Eldume,the errant member was not at home.
His wife and children were allegedly surprised to see a crowd at their gate and according to the police Occurrence Book,the wife and children were terrified and had to run for their lives. This is because the intruders were allegedly armed with crude weapons and according to a charge sheet seen by Independent Reporters Kenya,the crowd had an intent to disturb peace and according to the law, the participants had to be arrested!
Among those who were pointed out for arrest were among others Joshua Moto Lenagwenyi, though he strongly disagrees that he was part of the alleged gang. A cook of a nearby secondary school was also wrongly arrested, yet at that eventful day, he was allegedly busy serving food to the candidates who were seating their KCSE Examinations…
Our subject however will narrow down to Joshua Moto Lenagwenyi ,a duly registered person living with physical disability NCPWD/P/249627SN-0033553.
The middle aged man claims to have been wrongly accused, allegedly for being a member of the Morans suspected to have invaded the home of their own member. He eventually suffered bodily harm in the hands of a plain clothe police officer he identifies as Hosea Yator,then based in Marigat police station.
‘’I was very surprised when a man wearing civilian clothes approached me, and identified himself as a police officer.He said he was out to arrest me and I cooperated. I was at Ilororo trading center that day of 22nd November 2018’ Lenangwenyi told independent reporters Kenya pointing out that the police officer physically assaulted him.The officer allegedly used his knees to hit him on the spine several times,just because he was trying to make a phone call to his kin .
He finally bundled him onto an hired motorcycle, and booked him at Marigat police Station.
Through the intervention of the Bariingo South Chairman of the PLWD a Mr.Lekosek,Lenangwenyi was set free on a bond but before proceeding with the case, alongside another co- accused called John Cherono,Lenagwenyi and the Chair of PLWD demanded to see the OCPD to launch a complain about the police assault.
On the 24th November 2018,the OCPD granted them an hearing and the police officer Hosea Yator was summoned before the OCPD, alongside the station OCS.
The OCPD was very angry when the police officer refused to answer crucial questions, and especially why he Hosea decided to make an arrest all by himself, and carrying out an arrest while not dressed in official police uniform..
‘’Why do you ,a trained police officer put yourself in danger? If you go about your duties without uniform or a police car, how can Wananchi distinguish you from a criminal? The OCPD allegedly asked Hosea, but he kept quite all through.
The OCPD then asked Lenangwenyi to immediately record a statement against the officer, to launch a complain about the assault but police in Marigat refused to allow him write a statement..
‘’They told me that they police can never write a statement against a fellow police officer’’Lenangwenyi revealed in this interview.
Nevertheless, Lenagwenyi proceeded to the Marigat Sub-county Hospital for medical examination…
On the 14th Feb 2019,the court in Kabarnet dismissed the case against Lenagwenyi and his co accused a Mr.Cherono.The complainer a Miss Lekimariki gave a conflicting statement against what was in the charge sheet.
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The complainer, the wife of the errant moran almost caused laughter when she informed the court that nobody at all caused danger at her home and all that she knows is that,some strangers who were not even before the court visited her home where they proceeded to kneel down, and made a prayer to some unknown god..
With the case dismissed, Lenagwenyi raised his hand in court and the court agreed to give him a chance to speak.He reported to the court about the police officer Hosea Yator who was present in court,and the assault complain he has against him. The court advised him to make an official complain in writing, and hand it over to the DPP office in Kabarnet alongside his medical examination report.
The arresting officer Mr Hosea saw him writing the letter outside the court and in contempt, he approached and asked him to stop wasting his time because..
‘’You will not take me anywhere and your letter is useless’’ the police officer Hosea Yator allegedly told Lenagwenyi.True to his word,the letter he handed over to the court clerks in Kabarnet just disappeared, and never reached the office of the DPP in Kabarnet.
Lucky for Lenagwenyi,a court open day was in Kabarnet on the date of 26th June 2019.He met Esther Macharia, Assistant Director of Public Prosecution ,and handed over to her a photocopy of the complaint letter he had written against the police officer Hosea Yator.
The original copy had disappeared in court because the clerks had allegedly lied to him that it was their work to hand the letter to the DPP office.
Without wasting time,Macharia wrote a letter to the OCPD Marigat dated 9th July 2019 pointing that no one is above the law,and that it is never too late to record a statement.She directed the police to record a statement from Lenagwenyi,about the complaint he has against the police officer Hosea Yator.
The letter was copied to the County Police boss but surprisingly, the police never honored the letter from the office of the DPP.
The assistant DPP Macharia was again forced to write a second letter dated 26th July 2019 and this time round, the police obliged to allow Lenagwenyi record a statement against the police officer.
Strangely enough, the OB/18/25/7/2019 does not contain the name of the accused officer Hosea Yator ..
In the month of August 2019,Lenagwenyi met a new OCS in Marigat and through his promise, his statement/complain against Yator had already been handed over to the Marigat DCI office.
According to Lenagwenyi,the DCI office in Marigat has allegedly forwarded his file to the regional DCI authorities, from where it will be handed over to IPOA and the DPP for execution. According to his own involvement with the DCI,his case file will most likely get the attention it deserves sometime in the year 2027!
‘’I feel very heartbroken because 2027 means no justice at all’ he told Independent Reporters Kenya during this interview. He is very sad that just because he is an ordinary Kenyan,justice will forever be elusive to him and many other Kenyans of his station in life.
Meanwhile,the police officer who assaulted him has been transferred to a station around Koibatek.
Lenagwenyi is very afraid that the officer is still acting with impunity, and soiling the image of the Kenya Police .Lenagwenyi is afraid that the officer is still busy assaulting innocent Kenyans,just because no action will be taken against him.
Lenagwenyi is now sending out an appeal to any organization that is keen to help him get justice ;and save other Kenyans who are suffering, or may suffer in future because of the misconduct, and the unprofessional actions of the police officer in question.
Lenagwenyi was sickly since his childhood and he ended up being disabled after spending part of his life in Kijabe Mission Hospital.The sickness affected his schooling and after the assault by police,Medical report indicates that he cannot bend and cannot do any manual work.
The injuries he sustained on his spine affected his fragile health situation and has reverted to medication since the day when the officer attacked him for no reason.