DCI Blocked From Saving Thika Road Club Revellers Held Over Ksh10K Bill
The manager and bouncer are accused of illegally confining Fred Kioko and Kevin Oira and made matters worse by blocking the DCI detectives from saving them.
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Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) based in Kasarani were on Saturday, June 24 prevented from rescuing two revellers detained at the newly opened Embassy Bistro night club along Thika Road next to Garden City Roundabout over an unpaid bill of Ksh10,000.
Two workers at the club, namely Henry Omondi and James Angulu, are facing kidnapping charges after they allegedly locked up the revellers in the club's storeroom over the unpaid bill.
The manager and bouncer are accused of illegally confining Fred Kioko and Kevin Oira and made matters worse by blocking the DCI detectives from saving them.
The Embassy Bistro Club along Thika Road. /THE EMBASSY BISTRO
They also snatched a car key from a DCI officer and banged the bonnet of the police vehicle the detectives had arrived in.
According to a police report, the detainees, Fred and Kevin, accessed the nightclub in the early morning of June 24 to meet their friend, who they found in the company of two other men and a woman.
After the two arrived, their friend excused himself to escort the woman out of the premises as she was too drunk, as the two men also left moments later after they were left alone at the table, where they continued to drink beer ordered by their friend.
Fred and Kevin then realised that they were left with the Ksh10,000 unpaid bill courtesy of their friend and the woman, which they declined to pay, culminating in their detention.
The two sought the help of their friends, who in turn reported the matter to the police control room and the matter was escalated to the Kasarani DCI offices and three officers on night patrol.
The detectives freed the two complainants and ordered them into their car to take them to the police station, but Omondi and Angulu, together with other workers at the club, allegedly prevented the officers from leaving with Kioko and Oira before they paid.
The manager was arrested on the spot, as others fled the scene. The bouncer was later traced and arrested.
The duo were charged with wilfully obstructing a police officer contrary to Section 254 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Code as well as causing a disturbance in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, contrary to Section 95 (1) (b) of the Penal Code.
They denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Gerald Mutiso of the Makadara Law Courts.
They were released on Ksh50,000 bail with a surety in like sum and an alternative cash bail of Ksh20,000, with the case listed for pre-trial hearings on August 1, 2023.
Section 95 of the Penal Code indicates that "Any person who - (a) uses obscene, abusive or insulting language, to his employer or to any person placed in authority over him by his employer, in such a manner as is likely to cause a breach of the peace; is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for six months."
The offence of resisting or wilfully obstructing any police officer in the due execution of his duty carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment under Section 254(b) of the Penal Code.
