A court in Meru has awarded a lawyer Ksh7.7 million as compensation for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution and imprisonment.
In his ruling, Meru Principal Magistrate Gathogo Sogomo said the complainant, Kirimi Mbogo, suffered immensely in the hands of National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officials and traffic police officers four years ago.
The Magistrate ordered that the lawyer be paid immediately.
Mr Mbogo had sued NTSA following the collapse of a case in which he had been arrested for allegedly driving a car with a cracked windshield and exceeding the speed limit on September 22, 2016, at 9 am.
NTSA officials are said have stopped Mr Mbogo at a roadblock at Muthara market, in Tigania East as he drove from Maua to Meru. They handcuffed the lawyer and held him for hours inside a vehicle belonging to NTSA.
The officers also towed his vehicle to the Meru Police Station and have never returned his car key to date, forcing him to get another.
Mbogo was charged on the same day he was arrested but was acquitted after nine months because the arresting officers did not produce any evidence against him.
It is then that the lawyer filed a case at the Tigania Law Courts seeking compensation for wrongful arrest, illegal imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
During the hearing, the court was told that during the arrest, the officers harassed and embarrassed Mr Mbogo in the presence of other road users, his passengers and clients.
The lawyer claimed that, at one point, the officers insulted and ridiculed him in the presence of passers-by, thus demeaning his standing as an officer of the court.
While delivering the ruling, Magistrate Gathogo reprimanded the officers involved in the incident and asked them to be mindful of other road users.
Mbogo was awarded Ksh7.7 million as compensation and costs of the case and interests. He said he will move to execute the decree after expiry of two weeks if he will not have been paid by then.
