‘Orders from above’ is a dangerous precedent, court rules in Moses Kuria’s case against police officers

By , K24 Digital
On Thu, 25 Nov, 2021 20:04 | 2 mins read
A gavel. PHOTO | FILE
. A gavel. PHOTO | FILE

A Nairobi Magistrate court has advised police officers to obey court orders and stop waiting for orders from "above".

Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot while delivering a ruling on an application filed by Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria which sought to commit three officers attached to Kilimani Police Station for contempt of court ,warned the officers against disobeying court orders. 

"I note that the way in which the applicant was arrested on Friday and the intention was to hold him up to to Monday but it was thwarted by the court order ,It's regrettable that there was a suggestion that the three officers were waiting for orders from above ,they might be warned that such force and impunity has no room in a just society," the magistrate ruled.  

However Cheruiyot dismissed the application by Moses Mutua saying that it did not meet the threshold for contempt of court.

Moses Kuria had filed contempt of court proceedings against DCI Kilimani Fatuma Hadi ,OCPD Adan Mohamed and OCS Martin Fwamba after they declined to release him from the police station terming the court order as stupid pieces of a document.

The Magistrate also noted that such terms used by the police while denying to release Moses Kuria from custody is a serious matter and dangerous, "the police cannot be seen to be receiving orders from above that is dangerous," he added.

"I find that the action by the three does not amount to contempt of court since the applicant was eventually released the following morning" he ruled.

The Magistrate also said that the delay by the police officers in releasing Moses Kuria from Kilimani police station maybe addressed by other relieves.

Through his lawyer Omenke Andeje the MP had told the court that despite being dully served with a court order the three officers refused to release him from custody.

Kuria had been arrested on January 10 2020 with Assault charges and moved to court the same day seeking bail pending charges.

The court ordered that he be released on a Ksh50,000 cash bail pending his plea taking but the officers in Kilimani Police Station refused to release him citing orders from above.