A Nakuru court yesterday deferred for a second time taking of pleas against 10 traffic police officers recently nabbed by anti-graft agency officers for allegedly taking bribes from motorists.
Chief magistrate Samuel Mungai directed that the suspects take their pleas once an application they filed in the high court is heard and determined.
“Once the proceedings in the high court are finalised, they will appear to answer to their charges,” said Mungai during the ruling.
The officers moved to the high court through their lawyer David Mongeri to block their prosecution by seeking orders to bar the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from charging them with abuse of office and soliciting of bribes.
Mongeri urged the court to postpone the pleas until an application challenging the validity of the charges is concluded.
The lawyer further told the court that the application pending in the high court was raising constitutional questions touching the accused persons and sought to have the pleas deferred, arguing that the high court proceedings might end up nullifying the entire process.
The traffic officers also noted that there are high chances they may be apprehended at any time and be locked up in police custody.
Previously, resident magistrate Loice Komingoi postponed plea taking by the officers to allow conclusion of the matter before the high court.
The traffic police officers who were arrested on October 30 in a sting operation over allegations of collecting bribes along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, were meant to answer to their charges on Thursday after they were deferred on November 12.
The anti-corruption agency has vowed to follow up the matter to ensure the officers are charged in court contrary to previous incidents where the traffic officers were reportedly simply transferred to other stations without being charged.
The court extended bond terms of the accused officers until January 30 when they are expected to take their pleas.