Nyeri: Administration Police Constable, Peter Wamiti, accused of fatally shooting a Karatina businessman, will remain in prison custody for the next 75 days pending the filing and determination of his bail or bond application by the court. Justice Magare Kizito has directed that Wamiti be remanded at the Nyeri Maximum Security Prison until May 5, when a pre-trial conference is scheduled.
According to Kenya News Agency, the officer was charged with murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code, one month after his arrest. The charge sheet alleges that Wamiti killed George Gathu at Rubis petrol station in Karatina in mid-January during an altercation. The incident occurred at 11 pm when the businessman was about to drive away after a heated argument with another unidentified man. Wamiti and his colleague reportedly followed Gathu, and after a brief argument, Wamiti opened fire, resulting in Gathu’s death.
Results from a postmortem conducted last month at the Karatina sub-county hospital morgue indicated that the 40-year-old Gathu was shot four times, with two bullets striking his chest, one piercing his right shoulder, and another entering through his ear and piercing his head. Wamiti, however, denied the offence before Justice Kizito, who ordered his remand for safety reasons, given his position in the National Police Service.
When Wamiti first appeared before Nyeri Senior Resident Magistrate Mary Gituma on January 20, he was remanded in police custody for 14 days to allow the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the killing. On February 9, the court granted a 7-day extension to IPOA due to delays in receiving firearms for ballistic examination. State prosecutor Claudette Obat noted that although most investigations were complete, the delay in firearm release had hindered progress.
Last week, Justice Maureen Odero deferred Wamiti’s plea taking by a week to allow for a mental assessment to determine his fitness for trial. During the proceedings on Wednesday, Justice Kizito directed the legal teams to file their skeleton submissions within the next 30 days.
