The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has clarified that no criminal charges were preferred against two police officers and two civilians who had been linked to alleged cases of robbery, kidnapping, extortion and rape along Thika Road and its environs.
The ODPP says the four suspects were presented before a court through a miscellaneous application, but no criminal charges had been filed against them at that stage.
The clarification follows reports that the matter had been withdrawn after the main complainant, Cyrus Mwangi Wahongo, indicated that he no longer wished to pursue his complaint.
The ODPP says Wahongo failed to attend an identification parade, which was a critical part of the investigation.
The Office further says the evidence submitted for consideration did not meet the evidentiary threshold required to make a decision to charge the suspects.
The suspects are Silas Onyango Okello, an interdicted police officer formerly attached to Kahawa Sukari, Police Constable Oliver Juma Boge, formerly attached to Railways Police Station and interdicted since March 2018, and civilians Job Sidiga and Stephene Okello.
Investigators had linked the four to alleged incidents of robbery and extortion targeting motorists and members of the public in areas including Mwihoko, Thika West, Githurai and Mwiki.
According to investigators, the suspects allegedly used a grey Toyota Allion, registration number KCN 371M, to trail their targets before staging arrests and demanding money.
Wahongo had told investigators that he was intercepted by the group, falsely accused of smoking bhang and robbed of 15,000 shillings.
Preliminary investigations also linked the suspects to a separate robbery reported on September 16, in which 140,000 shillings was allegedly stolen, alongside other reported incidents.
However, the investigation was affected after Wahongo failed to attend the identification parade at Kasarani Police Station.
The ODPP says decisions to prosecute or not prosecute are made independently and are guided by the evidence available, the law and its constitutional mandate under Article 157 of the Constitution.
The Office has stressed that the matter should not be described as an acquittal, as no criminal charges had been preferred against the four suspects.
