Policeman accused of rape flees to Tanzania

In Summary

• The suspect, a police officer who is on suspension, went on the run after his daughter accused him of defiling her in November and later locking her up for almost a week at the Isebania Police Station.
• The officer reportedly defiled his 12-year-old daughter on November 1 and locked her up in the cells with the help of his colleagues in order to conceal evidence.
• Kuria West police chief Bernard Muriuki said he switched off all his mobile phones making tracking difficult.

Detectives are pursuing leads into the escape of a defilement suspect who escaped to neighbouring Tanzania after getting wind of his impending arrest.

The suspect, a police officer who is on suspension, went on the run after his daughter accused him of defiling her in November and later locking her up for almost a week at the Isebania Police Station.

Kuria West police chief Bernard Muriuki said he witched off all his mobile phones making tracking difficult.

Police had been close to nabbing him after members of the public tipped them off about his whereabouts but he managed to evade the dragnet and cross the border to Tanzania.

“It seems there’s someone feeding him with information on police operations,” Mr Muriuki said.
IPOA PROBE

The officer reportedly defiled his 12-year-old daughter on November 1 and locked her up in the cells with the help of his colleagues in order to conceal evidence.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) launched investigations into the rape claims.

From Wednesday to Friday last week, Ipoa officers camped in Isebania town, visiting the minor and her grandmother at a guardian’s home, where the two took refuge following the incident. Detectives have begun reviewing the matter.

Mr Muriuki said the suspect had been arrested and charged on two separate occasions in November but the case flopped after the prosecution cited lack of evidence.

The Standard Seven pupil maintained that her father defiled her at their home in Nyabohanse after luring her into his bedroom and kept her blood-stained clothes as evidence.

The minor, who was by then staying with her grandmother, had gone to her father’s house to collect school fees. After the incident, she said she ran to Nyabohanse Police Post, where she reported the matter.

She said her attempts to have the suspect arrested were futile after officers turned against her and locked her up in the cells in a bid to shield their colleague.

LOCKED UP

The girl said a female police officer called her father and area chief and tried to persuade her to forgive him.

She was then moved to Isebania Police Station, where she was locked up in a cell for two hours, then taken to Nyayo Hospital where she was tested and given medication.

The minor stayed in police custody for six days, sharing the cold floor with adults.

The officers reportedly always allowed the man to see her and he constantly visited in an attempt to coerce her to drop the case.

The girl's guardian claimed he is living in a state of perpetual fear following threats by the suspect’s relatives.

The victim is yet to record statements with police following the threats.