Two men have been arrested following a viral video that showed a rogue driver assaulting a traffic police officer went viral on social media.
According to a police statement, Peter Kiragu, an accomplice of the driver in question was first to be arrested following the incident.
“One accomplice is in custody as efforts to trace the driver and motorcycle are underway,” a police statement read in part.
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A few hours after the police said that the driver, Ian Njoroge, was still at large, social media reports showed that he was arrested at his home in Jacaranda, Kayole.
It was reported that the police officer, identified as Jacob Ogendo, was on duty along Kamiti Road at the Mirema Junction when the incident occurred.
It is said that he spotted a vehicle making a U-turn on the road subsequently obstructing traffic, promoting him to initiate a stop.
While the officer was approaching the vehicle, he observed the driver accelerating, hitting the kerb on the side of the road and got stuck.
This gave the officer an opportunity to get inside the vehicle to try and stop the driver and get him to drive to the station.
While everything seemed to be in order, the driver drived for a while before drawing a sword which was hidden inside the car.
“The officer jumped outisde the vehicle for his own safety but the driver followed him with blows and kicks,” the statement added.
While the officer tried to run from the driver, he fell giving the driver a chance to assault him further and take away some of his belongings.
It was at this point when members of the public intervened and saved the officer from the driver who ran back to his vehicle and left.
Following the incident, Ogendo sought first aid services at a local clinic, Crestview Mother and Child Wellness Center, where he was referred to Mama Lucy Hospital for further treatment.
This is not the first time police officers are assaulted by members of the public.
In 2018, two videos showing police officers being assaulted by civilians in public went viral online sparking mixed reactions.
In one video, a tuk tuk driver is seen battling two police officers on a road in Nakuru County. The man and the officers are captured hurling stones at each other before the police decide to flee.
The man claimed the officers had destroyed the windscreen and side mirrors of his tuk tuk, prompting him to take matters into his hands.
In another video, a man believed to be a boda boda rider is seen wrestling with a police officer, who is armed with an Ak47 rifle that hangs from his shoulder.
However, it should be noted that willfully assaulting police officer in due exercise of the police officers duties contrary to Section 103 (a) of the National Police Service Act No. 11 (A) of 2011.
According to the law, offences related to assault of police can attract a fine not exceeding Ksh 1 million, imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or to both.
It states, “Any person who— (a) assaults, resists or willfully obstructs a police officer in the due execution of the police officer’s duties; (b) assaults, resists or willfully obstructs any person acting in aid of the police officer; (c) attacks an animal belonging to the Service; or (d) intentionally or recklessly, destroys police property, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to both.”
