A Makadara magistrate has dismissed a police application to detain a suspect who received Sh60,000 an amount believed to be proceeds of a bribe.
Principal magistrate Eunice Suter trashed the application by Corporal Benson Munyoki of Buruburu DCI offices to be granted orders to detain Habil Olembo.
Cpl. Munyoki had sought to hold Olembo for three days to investigate offences of demanding money by menaces and conspiracy to commit an offence – namely murder.
The detective had told the court in an affidavit that the complainant in the case Daniel Odhiambo paid Sh4 million to detective Lydia Chesebe, a DCI officer attached to Revenue Protection Services at the KRA offices.
“In the submission, the only reason why the suspect is to be detained is for witness statements from undisclosed people to be recorded. The applicant (Cpl. Munyoki) is acting in the hope of getting witnesses that are unidentified and mysterious to the court and the applicant,” Suter said.
“Allowing the application will further the injustice to the respondent (Olembo). Going through the affidavit, a police officer is said to have taken Sh4 million. She is not arrested and no reason is explained. The suspect is said to have taken Sh60,000 (of the Sh4 million) only and no link is disclosed by the officer for the charge before the court. I find that the application lacks merit and is not allowed.”
Odhiambo had been called by a suspect in the matter who identified himself as a KRA employee – Alphonse Ngile on December 17 last year and they planned to meet at Ushuru Towers in Upper Hill the next day.
In an affidavit filed at the court, Cpl. Munyoki said upon meeting, the two were joined in by Chesebe and Nancy Keter, said to be a KRA staffer before Ngile left them in a discussion.
“During the discussion, Chesebe threatened the complainant that she was going to charge him with offences of tax evasion and demanded to be given Sh15 million so as to drop the charges,” Cpl. Munyoki stated in the affidavit.
“The complainant agreed to pay Sh4 million which he paid on diverse dates between December 18 and 21, 2020 and after paying, the complainant realised he had been forced to pay the money under threats and reported the matter at Buruburu police station.”
Munyoki said that during investigations, Odhiambo received a call from a person who was looking for his car’s registration details and reported the same to the Nairobi area DCI headquarters.
He also added that during the investigations, investigators found out that Olembo was in constant talks with Chesebe during the time and had received the Sh60,000 out of the Sh4 million through Ngile.
The detective said the purpose of identifying Odhiambo’s car was for purposes of eliminating him and said he needed time to obtain call data records of suspects that Olembo was in talks with.
Suter said Munyoki can charge Olembo if he wished to pursue the case and if he needs further investigations, the officer in charge of Buruburu police station can admit the suspect to police bonds.
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