“I no longer have sexual feelings and I have no chance of fathering a child.”
These are the words of 43-year-old Ernest Nyamoti, a former matatu driver whose testicles were smashed in a brutal assault by a traffic police officer six years ago.
“I HAVE USED OVER SH1.4 MILLION ON TREATMENT. TO ADD SALT TO INJURY, THE OFFICER WHO BEAT ME IS NOW FREE AND I KNOW HE WILL GET BACK TO WORK. I FEEL MY LIFE IS IN DANGER,” NYAMOTI SAID.
Nyamoti literally had his day in court but he has had no justice after the acquittal of the police officer last Friday. The court found no evidence against him.
“WHERE IS JUSTICE IN THIS COUNTRY? WHAT MORE EVIDENCE WOULD THE MAGISTRATE WANT? I’M ALIVE AND THE DOCTORS TESTIFIED IN MY FAVOUR, EXPLAINING THAT MY TESTICLES WERE SMASHED AND LATER REMOVED?” THE DISTRAUGHT FATHER OF THREE ASKED ON TUESDAY.
Ipoa spokesperson Dennis Oketch said the authority is aware of the case and that it would explore means of appealing the judgment.
Nyamoti recalled to the Star how he was accosted by four officers at Roasters along Thika Road who accused of picking passengers at the wrong place. They said they arrested him for causing a traffic snarl-up on July 26, 2013.
His 14-seater matatu was blocked by a police Land Rover in the morning incident. He was violently pulled from the driver’s cabin as the officers rained blows on him.
Traffic officer Jama Hussein was prosecuted for assaulting Nyamoti. According to him, the driver defied a lawful order to stop for overlapping and picking passengers in an undesignated place.
“THE ACCUSED DROVE TOWARDS GARDEN ESTATE AND THEN ABANDONED THE MOTOR VEHICLE AND FLED, TRIED A SCALING A 10-METRE WALL TO EVADE ARREST,” HE SAID PROBABLY IN AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN AWAY NYAMOTI’S INJURIES IN HIS PRIVATE PARTS.
He denied assaulting the matatu driver.
Nyamoti was arrested but acquitted of the traffic offence. But he, through rights lobbies IMLU and International Justice Mission and Ipoa took the officer to court for causing him grievous harm.
“THIS OFFICER [JAMAL HUSSEIN] FIRST SLAPPED MY FACE BEFORE REPEATEDLY KICKING MY PRIVATE PARTS. I FELL DOWN AND HE CONTINUED KICKING AND EVEN STEPPED ON MY SCROTUM,” THE FATHER OF THREE SAID.
In the court papers, his witnesses, including Superintendent Hycine Olaba, a clinical officer at Nairobi Remand Prison, said that upon examining him at first instance, she discovered that the scrotum was swollen and bruised and he was passing blood-stained urine.
She referred him to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment.
Another witness, Dr Kiongi Mwaura, told the court that he first treated Nyamoti on August 2, 2013, for testicular pain, swollen scrotum and abdominal pain. He recommended the removal of one of the testicles after he realised it was damaged, with no blood supply.
He dismissed the argument by the police officer that Nyamoti could have sustained the injuries after he fell from the 10-metre wall.
The second testicle was later removed at Kikuyu Mission Hospital.