Your verdict: Puzzle in theft of AP’s gun

By Wahome Thuku

No one has ever given a clear account of what transpired on that day outside a post office in Meru. But the incident, in whichever version it was narrated, was rather unusual.

Two administration police officers were relaxing and chatting outside the post office they had been assigned to guard.

Armed with G3 rifles in a rural town not so infamous for high-level crime, they had nothing to be extra alert over.

After a while they parted ways and each stood metres from the other, passing time in their own individual ways.

Three men approached from the end of a dusty road outside the office.

They hurriedly walked past the first officer whom they had seen there day in, day out.

Perhaps out of idleness or a policeman’s instinct, the second officer called Ben stopped them.

He asked the first man, Julius, to produce his identity card. He did not have it so the officer ordered him to sit down.

He asked the second man, Joseph, to do the same and he too failed to identify himself.

When he asked the third man, Fred, for his identity card, tables turned.

According to the officer, Fred hit him on the head with a stone and he fell down. Joseph who was then still seated grabbed the gun and the three men ran away.

It was not clear whether other officer witnessed the attack since he did not try to immobilise the attackers, but he moved to the scene in a matter of seconds.

The injured colleague claimed that the other officer told him the names of the men who had attacked him as he knew them well. The stolen gun was loaded with two rounds of ammunition. The incident was reported at Meru Police Station and a hunt for the lost rifle and the gang began in earnest.

A week after the incident, a shop was raided in the town by a gang armed with a firearm. A single shot was fired during the robbery.

Investigations established that the gang used the rifle taken from the officer.

Later, Joseph was arrested as a suspect for the robbery at the shop.

Confession

After interrogation he led the police to where the rifle had been buried.

Police recovered in it nine rounds of ammunition, presumably one having been fired during the robbery.

Joseph confessed to police how he, Fred and Julius had bypassed the AP standing outside a post office.

He narrated how the second officer had demanded that they identify themselves.

He said Fred jumped on the officer and attacked him. In the struggle the policeman threw the gun where he and Julius were sitting down.

He said Fred instructed them to take the gun and run. Fred then freed himself and followed them.

Fred was also arrested and the two were charged before a magistrate’s court in Meru with violently robbing the AP the rifle.

During the trial, Joseph retracted his statement. He put up a case that the officer had actually sold them the gun, which allegations the officers rebuffed.

The magistrate delivered the judgement later that year. What would be your verdict?

— Write out your verdict to yourverdict@eastandard.net