Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is leading reconciliation efforts between Ian Njoroge’s family and Jacob Otieno, the police officer who was attacked by the 19-year-old.
In an update on his X account, Sonko disclosed that he is in communication with Njoroge’s mother and Ogendo who previously served as his bodyguard.
In a recorded phone conversation with Ogendo, the former governor noted that Njoroge’s family had accepted to issue a public apology as part of the agreement.
The officer who thanked Sonko for reaching out promised to forgive Njoroge saying, “Even though I’m hurt, I’ll agree to forgive him.”
Sonko noted that he took the initiative to lead reconciliation efforts between the two parties as Njoroge’s mother pleaded with him and he personally knows Ogendo.
“After an incident where a motorist Ian Njoroge attacked a traffic police officer, yesterday I received a distress call from the mother of the said motorist, asking me to intervene. Her son is a first-year student at the Technical University of Kenya
“As a parent, I could also feel her pain. So, I took the initiative to contact the assaulted officer who was once my bodyguard when I was an MP and humbly requested for forgiveness. Fortunately, the officer has accepted the family’s apology and is willing to forgive Ian,” Sonko said.
ONLY A PARENT UNDERSTANDS CHILDBIRTH PAINS
After an incident where a motorist Ian Njoroge attacked a traffic police officer, yesterday I received a distress call from the mother of the said motorist, asking me to intervene.
Her son is a first-year student at the Technical… pic.twitter.com/xT3kRze34U
— Mike Sonko (@MikeSonko) June 5, 2024
On Tuesday, Njoroge’s mother, Ruth Nyambura Mbagara, came out to defend her son and apologised on his behalf while sharing the events that led to the incident and his subsequent arrest.
Ruth said that Njoroge encountered the police officer while rushing home to return her car, and take his siblings to church.
However, when Njoroge was stopped by the officer for making an illegal U-turn, their interaction turned ugly when the cop allegedly demanded a Ksh 10,000 bribe.
Njoroge mentioned that he could not raise the money since he was a university student, and instead offered Ksh 5,000 which he was hoping to raise through friends.
However, Ruth says that the officer refused the offer further escalating the situation which eventually led to a full-blown scuffle that left the officer with injuries.
“I was surprised because I have brought my son in a Christian way. He is a boy who has gone to good schools, has grown with manners, is God-fearing, obedient, very polite at home. I have never seen him agitated. Something must have happened to that boy,” she shared.
Ruth who was away for a business trip mentioned that she was made aware of her son’s situation by police officers who came to her home to arrest him.
“In shock, I went inside and found policemen folding my boy down and when I asked why, they showed me a video and told me your boy is a murderer and a robber, that he wanted to kill that man… that the man was in the ICU because of what he did,” she said.
