A New Zealand citizen arrested with AK 47 presented in court

Iten, 

Thursday, September 21, 2023 

KNA by Alice Wanjiru

Police in Iten have successfully sought orders from the an Iten court to detain a foreigner and a Kenyan facing charges of attempted rape and being in possession of an unlicensed firearm for a further 10 days pending completion of investigations before they can be arraigned in court for plea taking.

Iten principal magistrate Emily Kigen ruled that the two, Zane Gordon Robertson from New Zealand who is the first respondent and a Kenyan Titus Kiprotich the second respondent, be detained at the Iten police station.

In his sworn affidavit investigating officer Joab Arondo, told the court that on September 20, 2023, a report was made at the Iten police station by a victim of a sexual offence that the Robertson had attempted to rape her and sought assistance from the police while half naked.

He said the detectives who rushed to the resident found an AK 47 rifle, 23 rounds of ammunition, magazine and assorted substances believed to be drugs.

 In his application the investigating officer sought orders from the court to continue holding the respondents saying the police need to take the AK 47, 23 live rounds of ammunition and magazine to the National Police Service Laboratory for ballistic analysis to establish if the rifle has been used to commit crime within the country.

The officer continued that the police have to visit the immigration office and the embassy of New Zealand to establish the immigration status of the first respondent adding that being a foreigner he was a flight risk and therefore needed to be detained.

He added that mobile phones and a laptop which were in the possession of the two respondents needed to be taken to the cybercrime laboratory for analysis to establish if there could be any link with terrorist activities.

He further said the police need to establish the legal owner of the motor vehicle found with the respondents from the National Transport and Safety Authority.

Noting that the respondents were also found with assorted substances, the officer said there was need to take them to the government chemist for analysis to establish their use.

The police had requested for 21 days but the court granted them 10 days to complete the investigations and arraign them in court.

Courtesy; KNA