The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has formally dropped all charges against Maina Njenga, who was a former leader of the Mungiki.
On Monday, November 11, Ndegwa Njiru, Njenga’s lawyer, delivered the statement to the public. Njeru has highlighted his choice of the DPP as a triumph for his client, and he has expressed his joy at the outcome.
As a result of the ruling, the high-profile case that had garnered the attention of the whole country has come to an end.
“The DPP has withdrawn Maina Njenga’s case. It is now time for freedom,” Njiru said.
The seven allegations against Njenga and ten other co-defendants included membership in an illegal criminal organization known as Mungiki as well as participation in actions related to organized crime in Bahati, which is located in Nakuru County.
According to reports, the purported occurrences took place between the 11th and 18th of May in the year 2023. In the early 2000s, the government of Kenya made it illegal to have any connection with the Mungiki gang, which had previously been notorious for its participation in political violence and organized crime.
Njenga’s mother-in-law, who was the first witness for the prosecution, passed out when she was taking her oath to testify in November 2023, which was a dramatic beginning to the case.
After conducting a search warrant at Njenga’s residence on May 12, 2023, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) gathered evidence that led to the filing of charges against the former head of the Mungiki.
DPP withdraws Maina Njenga’s case….Freedom is here
— Ndegwa Njiru Adv. (@NjiruAdv) November 11, 2024
In the course of his testimony in court, one of the DCI officers, Athumani Asmani, said that around twenty policemen from the Nakuru West Sub County, Nakuru East, Lanet, and Bahati police stations gathered at the Lanet Police station at approximately four in the morning.
Next, they left the police station and made their way to Njenga’s residence, where uniformed police officers were waiting at the gate.
After that, they left the house. After fifteen minutes of resistance, the caretaker finally gave up and unlocked the gate.
In contrast, the previous Mungiki leader was absent during the raid.
Njenga’s residence was reportedly the location of the discovery of a toy gun, a Tokarev pistol, ammo, and bhang, according to the testimony of another investigator.
In addition to this, he said that they discovered the Tokarev handgun under a white cap in one of the closets located in the master bedroom.
Furthermore, the cops discovered three blunt ammunition cartridges concealed inside a magazine.
Despite this, the officer stated during the second round of questioning that it was impossible to confirm that Njenga received the weapon and ammo, as he was not present at the crime scene.
