NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 5 – A senior police officer was on Thursday charged with the murder of the son of former Gatundu North MP Patrick Muiruri.
Inspector Dickson Mwangi Munene, 29, appeared before Justice Muga Apondi and denied killing James Nganga Kariuki in the Westlands area on January 24 after a confrontation.
The Inspector’s lawyer Cliff Omcapitalfmnew asked the court to order that his client be held in a separate cell to ensure his safety.
Mr Omcapitalfmnew said his client’s life would be in danger if he is kept with other inmates, especially those who are facing jail terms for capital offences like robbery with violence.
“He was in charge of a team that responds to most violent robberies and Kamiti would be unsafe for him,” Mr Omcapitalfmnew pleaded.
The court however ordered that Mr Munene be remanded at the Kamiti Maximum Prison and instructed the officers in charge to accord him safety and security.
“This court is rather reluctant to order that the accused is given special treatment. All murder suspects should be accorded equal treatment,” Justice Apondi ruled.
Mr Munene’s trial has been set for March 23-25.
Mr Kariuki, 29, was the second born son of Mr Muiruri and had just returned to the country after completing his PhD degree in International Law in the UK.
He was killed while in the company of his younger brother and some friends, as they headed home from a nightclub in the Westlands area.
A funeral service for the late Mr Kariuki will be held at the Consolata Shrine in Nairobi on Friday before the burial at his father’s home in Gatundu on Saturday.
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