Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru is seeking compensation for alleged trumped-up charges . [File, Standard]
Police officers’ decision to detain lawyer Ndegwa Njiru and subsequently arraign him in court after his vehicle stalled along Thika Road has come back to haunt them after he sued the trio, seeking compensation for the alleged trumped-up charges.
The Director of Public Prosecutions declined to approve the charges, which led to the Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s ally being set free by the court.
In his case before High Court Judge Francis Kyambia, the lawyer accused Inspector Nancy Chemelil Mwaura and Police Constables Geoffrey Cheruiyot and Victoria Nyambura of alleged abuse of power.
The lawyer wants the three to personally compensate him and foot the legal fees he incurred after the arrest. At the same time, he is seeking an order to have the trio declared unfit to hold public office.
He claimed that the officers allegedly sought a Sh20,000 kickback.
“No lawful command can authorize the commission of unconstitutional acts and that every police officer bears an independent constitutional obligation to reject and refuse to execute unlawful orders,” argued his lawyer Njiru.
Constitution does not suspend human dignity merely because an individual has been arrested. To the contrary, Constitutional protection becomes most necessary precisely at the point where the State exercises coercive authority over an individual.