Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has claimed he was unfairly targeted and argued that the court overstepped its authority by sentencing him without a hearing. On Friday last week, Justice Lawrence Mugambi sentenced Masengeli to six months in prison for contempt of court and ordered him to report to the commissioner general of prisons.
Alternatively, the judge mandated that the IG personally appear before the court to address the “issues that he has been avoiding.” The court required Masengeli to explain the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of three individuals in Kitengela.
Justice Mugambi granted him a seven-day grace period to avoid serving his sentence, stating, “The acting Inspector General Masengeli can redeem himself by availing himself before this court in person to answer to the issues which he has been avoiding; failure to do so, the sentence will take effect.”
Masengeli had ignored the court summons seven times, providing various reasons for his absence. On one occasion, he cited attending a workshop and managing security matters in Mombasa and Wajir. On another, he requested another chance to appear last week Monday, but he still failed to do so. Instead, he sent Deputy IG Eliud Lagat to urge the court to be understanding of his “busy schedule.”
The judge was not pleased with this response, remarking that the IG had “casually treated every possible opportunity accorded to him by this court.” Justice Mugambi expressed, “Deliberate defiance of court orders breeds impunity, particularly when done by those entrusted with public power.
” He further stated, “As a court, I wouldn’t want to be unfair to anyone. I’ve done more than I could to accommodate him. I gave him more than fair chances. I even accommodated him on the last day.”
Regenerate Response
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