Policeman shoots and injures magistrate in Kenyan court

Policeman shoots and injures magistrate in Kenyan court

A police officer shot and injured a magistrate at a court in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday, before being killed in a shootout with other officers, the judiciary said.

Monica Kivuti, a magistrate at the Makadara Law Courts, was shot after rejecting the bond request for the police officer's wife, chief registrar of the judiciary Winfridah Mokaya said in a statement.

"Immediately (after) this decision was pronounced, a person shot at the magistrate," Mokaya said. "Police officers (at) the scene responded and neutralized the shooter."

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Kivuti and three other officers who were injured in the ensuing shootout were being treated and in a stable condition, chief justice Martha Koome said in a statement.

"It is clear that the intention of the perpetrator was to kill the magistrate," Koome said, ordering security at all courts across the country to be reinforced.

The policeman's wife had requested release on bail after pleading guilty to obtaining 2.9 million Kenyan shillings ($22,700) by false pretences, according to a police report seen by Reuters.

"He entered inside the court through the magistrate's door and fired shots towards the magistrate, injuring her on the chest and left hip," the police report said.

"He was... fatally shot by a fellow officer who was in the court," the report said.