Weeks after the “untouchable” matatu tout Felix Mwingirwa was accused of assaulting passengers at Tea Room in Nairobi, the bully tout is yet to be brought to book.
Last week, the National Police Service issued a statement saying the tout had three pending assault cases in court.
He was later arrested and charged with causing a disturbance, not assault as had been expected. He was then released on a Sh50,000 cash bail.
And in an interesting turn of events, the tout framed two witnesses, who claimed to have tried to help the assaulted passenger on January 30th. John Kariuki Mwaniki and John Kithinji were arrested on Sunday, with junior officers at Central Police Station claiming the arrests followed “orders from above”.
“I really don’t know why they were arrested, but anything is possible with Msanii, (Mwingirwa) because he is really connected. He has senior police officers who protect him,” said an officer.
According to sources within the police force, Mwingirwa works in cahoots with senior police officers to collect “protection fees” from drivers, and hotel and bar owners.
Other touts at Tea Room in Nairobi confirmed Mwingirwa’s links to the police saying they feared for their lives.
“Even if we tell you everything, this man will not go to jail. Rather, we are the ones who will end up being accused of things we have not done,” a tout said, adding that Mwingirwa was linked to some of the top police officers who own matatus in the city.
But on Tuesday, DCI boss George Kinoti stated that no one is untouchable and ordered an immediate and comprehensive probe on Felix Mwingirwa.
The DCI also dropped the charges against the two witnesses who were set to appear in Court on Tuesday.
“No one is untouchable. A criminal is a criminal and I will not tolerate this,” said Kinoti, adding that he would personally visit the station to deal with the matter.
“The tout should be investigated and charged with criminal offenses.”
On Wednesday, city police chief Joseph ole Tito said the DCI will establish the activities the conductor has engaged in and whether he is working with officers of Central Police Station in particular.
“We are calling on members of the public to share information on accusations against the tout. We are aware the accused has three assault cases pending in court, one dating back to 2004,” Tito said.
