This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
On January 7, 2020, a dramatic scene unfolded at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi when a felony suspect, Daniel Njonjo Mwangi, resisted bail and pleaded not guilty to attempting to commit a felony.
Mwangi was arrested on January 7 at 12:45 pm on Kimathi Street in Nairobi after police found him in possession of a ruku and kitchen knife.
As Senior Resident Magistrate Muthoni Nzibe prepared to free Mwangi on cash bail of Sh30,000, he shouted, 'Afadhali nikufe. Sikufanya chochote na sina pesa' (I would rather die. I didn’t do anything and I don’t have any money).
Despite the magistrate's order, Mwangi resisted attempts by a police officer to handcuff him and even headbutted the law enforcer. It took at least 5 court orderlies to drag him out of the dock and into the court holding cells.
Magistrate Nzibe granted Mwangi a cash bail of Sh30,000 and set the date for mention on January 22. Mwangi claimed he was arrested by police while on his way to a funeral and was clobbered and pushed into a sewage tank before being handcuffed.
However, the cops who arrested Mwangi said they grew suspicious of his motive when they met him on Kimathi Street and he started running away. In a report filed at Central Police Station, the officers claim Mwangi threw himself into a pool containing wastewater before they subdued him and found a ruku and kitchen knife on him.
