The 16 suspects arraigned over the sexual assault of a female motorist on Wangari Maathai road, Nairobi will spend 15 more days in custody, a court has ruled.
Magistrate Robert Shikwe directed that the suspects be detained for 15 days to allow prosecution complete investigations.
This was after the prosecution requested for more days to finish their investigations and the magistrate noted the application was merited.
The prosecution on Wednesday appealed for 20 days to conclude probe.
The arrests were in connection to a Friday incident in which a female motorist was accosted and sexually assaulted by boda boda riders after an accident on Wangari Maathai road.
According to Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso, a total of 32 persons have been apprehended and 12 motorcycles seized following the horrifying incident which has since gone viral.
“When we began this show I mentioned that there were 16 arrested but by now the numbers have increased to 32, with now around 12 motorcycles impounded and it is just because of that outcry,” Shioso said.
The case will be mentioned on March 24.
On Monday, the police filed an affidavit seeking to detain the suspects James Mutinda, Samuel Wafula, Charles Omondi, Japheth Bosire, Hassan Farah, Wanjiku Lincon, Harrison Maina, among others.
Inspector of police Yvonne Mwanzia had said the suspects allegedly assaulted the female diplomat on March 4 along Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.
In the application, the officer had sought to be allowed to detain the suspects for 20 days to allow her and other officers to complete their investigations.
The suspects were not represented by any lawyer in court.
Mwanzia told the court that the victim, who is a diplomat, reported the incident at the Parklands police station.
She said at around 1730hrs, the victim, while she was driving the vehicle along Wangari Mathai road, on reaching Barabara Tano, was involved in a traffic road accident with a boda boda rider.
“Suddenly, a group of boda boda riders moved to where her vehicle had stopped and attacked her, accusing her of hitting one of their colleagues,” the court was told.
The officer added that while the victim was still inside her vehicle, the suspects started assaulting her and in the process, they robbed her of a mobile phone valued at Sh130,000.
The police need to retrieve CCTV footage from Barabara Tano for forensic analysis at DCI’s imaging and photographic department.
They also need time to compile the police file and take it to DPP for perusal.
“I need 20 days to investigate the suspects who have no known place of abode,” Mwanzia told the court.
She said the complainant is yet to sign a P3, and she’s still undergoing medication and counselling.
They also need time to request call data from service providers so that they can trace the movements of the accused persons.
The suspects’ mobile phones need to be taken to the cybercrime unit for forensic analysis.
The officers were apprehensive that if not granted the required days, they will not get enough evidence to prosecute the suspects.
Mwanzia said the victim deserves to have her interests safeguarded and it can only be safeguarded if comprehensive investigations are done and ensure that rightful offenders are brought to book.
Some of the suspects, however, were opposed to the 20 days being sought by the police. They said they are not boda boda riders as alleged by the police.
