Court acquits police imposter Joshua Waiganjo arrested 11 years ago » Capital News
NAKURU, Kenya, Mar 28 – The Chief Magistrate’s Court in Naivasha has acquitted Joshua Waiganjo of close to 10 charges against him.
The offenses included two charges of robbery with violence, illegal possession of police uniform and four counts impersonating senior police officers.
Waiganjo hit the headlines in 2013 for impersonating senior police officers and even issuing orders to juniors in Rift Valley and parts of Nairobi.
Waiganjo who at one time purported to have been stationed at the Anti-Stock Theft Police Headquarters in Gilgil was first charged in 2013 but the case collapsed as some witnesses failed to appear in court.
Some of the evidence also went missing as the case which involved senior police officers in Rift Valley moved from one court to another.
Former Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner, John M’Mbijiwe and former Anti-Stock Theft Police Commander, Michael Ngugi were largely mentioned in the matter.
In a separate case, the two were charged together with the senior police officers who have since passed on being charged with being accomplices to Waiganjo.
It was said that they allowed Waiganjo to dress in police uniform, allowed him unlimited access to police vehicle and even assigned him a police driver.
On Thursday, Chief Magistrate Nathan Lutta said Waiganjo had been released in 2017 through a ruling by the court of appeal.
The Magistrate said that in 2015 Waiganjo was was acquitted of some of the charges but he was jailed for five years for impersonating a police officer, one year for dressing in police uniform and six months each for three charges of being in possession of government stores.
The accused person appealed through the High Court in Naivasha and later opted for the Court of Appeal in 2017.
The High Court in Naivasha ordered a retrial ch ordered for a retrial but Waiganjo moved to the Court of Appeal in 2017 which in turn dismissed the case in totality.
The three-judge bench Court of Appeal observed that the order for a retrial by the High Court in Naivasha lacked legal basis.
“Waiganjo was dissatisfied by the outcome in the high court after the prosecution made an application to have the case withdrawn under section 87(a), he declined this raising fears that he could be rearrested,” the Magistrate stated.
Lutta observed that the Court of directed that the accused person be set free and his court was bound to acquit him under section 210 of the CPC.
“The court is bound by the doctrine of stare decisis and the accused is hereby released,” said the Magistrate.
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