Carwash man who was arrested driving recklessly charged with assaulting police officer
A carwash attendant who allegedly pulled a female traffic police officer out of a car after he was arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road has been charged with assault.
Felix Odinga was charged with assaulting police constable Jackline Kimitei at Roasters area within Kasarani in Nairobi on February 15, 2023 contrary to section 103 (a) of the National Police Service Act of 2011.
Ms Kimitei was discharging her duties when she was allegedly assaulted by Mr Odinga. The accused was also charged with defying orders from the officer to drive the car to Kasarani Police Station.
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Mr Odinga was also charged with driving a motor vehicle on a public road without a valid driving license in contravention of section 30 (1) (7) of the Traffic Act.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of driving the car without a license after he was charged before Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwani of the Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi but denied the other charges.
Ms Kimitei was controlling traffic near General Service Unit (GSU) Headquarters along Thika road when she saw Mr Odinga driving on the wrong side as he approached Thika Superhighway from Outering road and stopped him.
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She asked for his driving license or national identity card but Mr Odinga had none. The officer then got into the car and ordered Mr Odinga to drive to Kasarani Police Station.
Along the way, Mr Odinga reportedly diverted to a restaurant and said he was taking the car to its owner. After parking, he alighted and allegedly pulled Ms Kimitei out of the car. In the commotion, the officer fell and sustained minor injuries.
Mr Odinga attempted to flee the scene but he saw some GSU officers nearby and stopped. Ms Kimitei was joined by a colleague who arrested the suspect and escorted him to the station.
Mr Odinga will pay a fine of Sh10,000 for the offence of driving without a license or serve a three months’ jail term. Trial for the other charges starts on August 22, 2023.
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