Pastor Ng’anga’ treated at Karen hospital after crash
Pastor James Ng’anga’ has denied that he was driving a Range Rover involved in an accident leading to the death of a woman two weeks ago.
Mr Ng’ang’a, a TV preacher and founder of Neno Evangelism Centre, was reported by eyewitnesses to have been driving the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Speaking through his lawyers on Wednesday evening, Mr Ng’ang’a claimed he was “shocked at the allegations” and stoutly denied being at the scene of the accident.
“We are exploring our options, one of which is to sue the Daily Nation for publishing lies,” said his lawyer, Mr Assa Nyakundi.
Mr Ng’ang’a has not been formally charged with any crime, the lawyer maintained, and refused to answer questions relating to the preacher’s whereabouts on the day of the accident.
Police said they interviewed Pastor Ng’ang’a on Wednesday and took his statement, a full 10 days after the accident which claimed the life of Mercy Njeri.
TREATED AND DISCHARGED
However, speaking to a source familiar with the investigation, the Daily Nation was informed that police believe Pastor Ng’ang’a was treated at a Karen Hospital after the accident, which took place in Limuru.
The source said investigators believed he was picked up in town by a close female relative and rushed to the hospital, where he refused to be admitted and asked to receive treatment as an outpatient.
The Daily Nation spoke to Karen Hospital to inquire whether Pastor Ng’ang’a received any treatment there, but the hospital said it could not comment on the basis of doctor-patient confidentiality.
The source said investigators believed that Pastor Ng’ang’a has injuries on his neck and right arm.
Investigators also believe that after the accident, Pastor Ng’ang’a got out of the driver’s seat and into another vehicle belonging to Pastor David Muriithi, the Senior Pastor of House of Grace Church in Lang’ata.
The vehicle sped towards Nairobi, closely followed by another driven by Inspector of Police Nzuli Nzioka. Mr Nzioka is reported to have acted as some kind of unofficial bodyguard for Pastor Ng’ang’a. He is also believed to have been in the company of a man identified only as Mr Ngige and another unnamed police officer.
PASTOR’S MOTORCADE
One of the questions being asked is whether at the time of the accident, Pastor Ng’ang’a was trying to behave like an important politician on the road, bullying other motorists with his “motorcade”, complete with two “chase cars” — a black Range Rover and a Subaru.
On Wednesday, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority said it will take over investigations against police officers who handled the accident.
IPOA will, however, move in if Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet does not act “satisfactorily” against officers found to have broken the law, according to its chairman Macharia Njeru.
Mercy Njeri died on July 26 and an investigation that followed unearthed a cover-up by officers, citing them for forging documents, tampering with crucial evidence and making false records in a bid to hide the truth.
Investigators discovered that the register of seized vehicles had been forged and an inspection of the red Range Rover, involved in the crash, may never have happened. The officers also appeared to be in a great hurry to release the vehicle to its alleged owners.
SOURCE: Daily Nation