So bold was the man that in a period of two years that he was in operation he ‘sacked’ more than ten police officers in unclear circumstances before his luck ran out.
The suspect, who is being held at the Naivasha Police Station, was found in possession of police uniforms worn by senior officers.
Top officers were left in shock after it emerged that the middle-aged man who posed as the deputy PPO in Rift Valley flew in a police helicopter to Suguta in Baragoi at the height of the police killings.
It was during the incident that senior officers got suspicious and a probe started in which it was proved that the suspect was an imposter.
Used his position
According to a source privy to the investigation, the suspect, identified as Joshua Waiganjo, had allegedly fleeced tens of people using his ‘position’.
The source said during the Suguta killings, Waiganjo attended a high-powered security meeting where sensitive information was revealed.
“The man has been posing as an assistant commissioner of police and has been visiting several police stations in Rift Valley,” said the source.
He said in his ‘operations’, Waiganjo had sent home more than ten police and anti-stock theft officers for ‘gross misconduct’.
Some of the ‘sacked’ officers visited Naivasha Police Station where they expressed their shock on learning that the man had never been a police officer.
Probe
“After the Suguta meeting investigation was started and the officer was cornered in full police uniform of an assistant commissioner of police,” the source revealed.
He added that initial investigation had revealed that the man had for years engaged in highway robberies, mainly along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
Confirming the arrest, Naivasha OCPD Charles Kortok said they had recovered assorted police uniforms from the suspect’s houses in Gilgil and Njoro.
Kortok said they were investigating how the suspect came into possession of the genuine police uniforms.
“He shall be charged in court with robbery with violence, impersonating a police officer, and being in possession of police uniforms,” he said.
More charges
Police from the Special Crime Unit were still investigating the matter and could prefer more charges on the suspect, added Kortok.
“This is a case of a daring man, but his lucky days ran out and he shall face the full wrath of the law,” the police boss promised. - The Standard
