Wycliff Kwendo, the Lumakanda Police Station OCS currently facing defilement charges, was previously linked to an alleged rape case involving a female police recruit at the National Police College in Kiganjo, Nyeri County.
According to a report by The Standard and Daily Nation, the case was withdrawn in 2013 to allow police to complete investigations. Kwendo, who was serving as a drill instructor at the time, had been accused of sexually assaulting the recruit after she reported the matter to her superiors.
The prosecution reportedly asked the High Court to withdraw the case, arguing that it had been brought before investigations into the circumstances surrounding the allegations were complete.
The withdrawal did not amount to an acquittal and did not establish whether the allegations were true or false. No publicly available record has been identified showing how the subsequent police inquiry was concluded.
Kwendo is now facing fresh charges in Kakamega over alleged offenses involving a 14-year-old girl said to have occurred between September 24 and 27, 2026.
He appeared before Senior Resident Magistrate Dorcas Mac’andere and was charged with defilement under Section 8(1), read with Section 8(3), of the Sexual Offences Act. He also faces an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child and another charge relating to abuse of a position of authority.
The prosecution opposed his release on bond, citing the seriousness of the allegations and his position as a serving police officer. He was remanded pending determination of his bond terms.
Kwendo was arrested on Sunday and detained at Kakamega Police Station. Western Region DCI chief Douglas Chikanda and Kakamega County Police Commander Tom Achiya confirmed the arrest.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has since taken over the investigation and is expected to record additional statements, analyze CCTV footage, and consider an identification parade.
Kwendo has not been convicted of any offense and remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court.
