Three Nairobi Men Arraigned Over Theft of IPOA Murder Files
Three suspects were on Monday arraigned and charged with theft of murder investigation files belonging to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
The three, Nobert Ouko Opeyo, Bernard Ochieng Okello and David Bahati Okunda, appeared before Milimani senior resident magistrate David Ndungi
The suspects were also charged with an alternative count of handling stolen goods.
The charge sheet presented in court indicated that three committed the offense on May 29 at the IPOA head office.
They denied all the charges.
The prosecution urged the court to deny the suspects bail saying the stolen files have put witnesses at risk as there are other files which are missing from the IPOA office.
“Therefore we are requesting that the accused be remanded at Capitol Police Station on the basis that the investigating officer needs to make arrangements with the witness protection agency to ensure the safety of the witnesses,” the court was told.
The court allowed the police to detain the suspects for seven more days pending the conclusion of investigations.
The prosecution had asked for 10 days.
“The reason that they are likely to interfere with witnesses is compelling enough to deny the accused persons bail. However the 10 days are too many,” the court noted.
