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Ruth Nyambura Mbagara, the mother of Ian Njoroge, a 19-year-old university student caught on camera assaulting a traffic police officer, issued a public apology on Tuesday for her son’s actions.
The incident, which was captured in a viral video, began when Njoroge made an illegal U-turn while driving his mother’s car. According to Ms. Mbagara, the traffic officer demanded a bribe of 10,000 Kenyan shillings. When Njoroge, unable to afford the amount, offered 5,000 shillings instead, the officer refused, leading to a physical confrontation.
“I was surprised because I’ve raised my son in a Christian way,” Ms. Mbagara said. “He’s always been well-behaved and respectful.”
Ms. Mbagara explained that Njoroge was hurrying to return the car and take his siblings to church, a regular responsibility for the eldest son. She was unaware of the incident until she returned home that evening to find police vehicles outside her house. Inside, she witnessed officers manhandling her son.
While acknowledging her son’s wrongdoing, Ms. Mbagara expressed disappointment with media reports portraying Njoroge as a violent criminal. “They said he was a murderer and a robber, that the officer was in intensive care because of him,” she recounted. “He should not have assaulted the officer, and I’ve already spoken to him about that.”
In court on Tuesday, Njoroge’s defense team argued that he was treated inhumanely during his arrest. Defense lawyers Duncan Okatch and Vincent Lempaa, appearing before Magistrate BenMark at the Milimani Law Courts, claimed that police officers molested Njoroge at his home.
A short video played in court showed Njoroge being interrogated, with officers heard hurling insults at him. “What the complainant did to him in that car, I can say he was manhandled by the complainant,” the defense team told the court.
The defense described Njoroge as a first-year student at a public university with a promising future. “He was arrested at his parents’ house, beaten at the station, and his clothes were blood-stained,” his lawyers told the court.
Njoroge pleaded not guilty to charges of robbery with violence, causing grievous harm, and resisting arrest. The alleged offenses occurred earlier this year on Kamiti Road in Kasarani, where Njoroge was seen assaulting a police officer during a traffic stop.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) requested the court to detain Njoroge for three days to allow the investigating officer to prepare an affidavit. “The investigating officer was assigned the case yesterday and has had limited time to gather statements, obtain expert reports, and present the file to our office. We object to his release on bail and request three days to complete the affidavit,” the prosecution told the court.
The court granted the prosecution one day to detain Njoroge at Industrial Area Prison.
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