Two licensed gemstone dealers on Tuesday told a Nakuru court that they were robbed their gold weighing 950 grams on their way to Nairobi for market.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate, Liz Gicheha, James Njoroge and Moses Oliech told the court they were ordered off their Probox car when three officers started inspecting the vehicle when they found the precious mineral.
“We were three in the car, Moses, another stranger and I in the car. Three police officers flagged us down which we complied and stopped. Two officers drove off in a Land Cruiser with our gold leaving behind one officer, Fred Munyoki, the accused,” said Njoroge.
After a few minutes, the two officers accompanied them where they went to a hotel and solicited for Sh300 000 to release the gold.
The complainants had only Sh9,000 which they gave out but were told to top up the amount.
After they were unable to raise the amount, they decided to proceed with their journey to Nairobi but recorded statements with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission where Martin Mbuvi investigated the matter.
Corporal Fred Munyoki was arrested on January 7, 2016, at Hotel Cathy in Nakuru town and charged with soliciting corruptly Sh 300 000 on November 20, 2015, and receiving money in a corrupt way on January 7 from Njoroge and Oliech being a public officer with National Police Service.
The complainants called Munyoki through a number he had given them and told him to avail himself at Hotel Cathy in Nakuru to receive the amount and release the mineral.
Mbuvi gave out Sh100, 000 to the complainants as part of the bribe and accompanied them to the hotel with other four officers.
Njoroge told the court that Munyoki came accompanied by a taxi driver where he demanded the payment and produced the mineral.
“I pretended to pick the money from the car when I went to Mbuvi who gave me the Sh100, 000 to give to Munyoki. He asked me to call him immediately after giving out the money to come and arrest him,” Njoroge told the court.
They exchanged the money for the gold where all verified to find out if it was the exact amount when Mbuvi came in accompanied by his officers and arrested Munyoki.
It was later found that the gold which was initially sealed and signed by Oliech was tampered with and the signature missing, making the mineral look like gold which was not.
The counsel challenged the evidence from the complainants saying they have been coached to speak and make the innocent corporal suffer.
“The evidence given before this court is weak and lack necessary details to show the serial number of money in question, signatures and dates to validate the prosecution,” said David Mongeri.
The prosecution requested for an adjournment to avail other witnesses including a mineral analyst and EACC officers.
Munyoki is out on a Sh100 000 cash bail. The case was adjourned to October 11 when the prosecution will present four more witnesses.