For 23 years now, David Maina Wambugu, a former General Service Unit corporal has tirelessly sought justice, knocking on government doors with little success.
Wambugu was in the same car as former President Mwai Kibaki when it was involved in an accident while returning to Nairobi from a public rally in Machakos during election campaigns on December 3, 2002.
The crash left Wambugu with broken limbs and injuries on his head and back while Kibaki sustained life threatening injuries.
As he recuperated in hospital, Wambugu was promised, including a promotion once he recovered, but these assurances remained only on paper.
He was later dismissed from the service at the age of 32, amid claims that he had burdened his superiors with medical bills and failed to follow certain protocols.
Today, Wambugu, a father of four, has little to show for his years of service. He often reminisces about the good times in uniform and wonders how different life would have been if the promises had been kept.
His quest for justice began during Kibaki’s presidency, continued through President Uhuru Kenyatta’s two terms and persists under President Ruto.
Years on, Wambugu remains optimistic that justice will eventually be served in a case in which he has implicated one of his former bosses, including a former Assistant Inspector General.
He maintains that his dismissal was unfair and that he received no benefits despite years of service to the nation.
When all other avenues seemed blocked, Wambugu filed a case at the Employment and Labour Court in 2016, arguing that the handling of his matter after the accident had been inhumane.
The respondents in the case included the late former Provincial Police Commissioner King’ori Mwangi, the National Police Service, the Attorney General and the Inspector General.
Nearly a decade later, Wambugu says the case has yet to make proper progress, citing that, for unknown reasons, the State has not responded.
For this reason, in September 2025, Wambugu wrote to Chief Justice Martha Koome seeking to understand why his case had taken so long and why his file was reportedly missing.
“I was helplessly prevailed upon to sign that early retirement letter against my will, but I had to do it to save my life from what he called ‘regrettable consequences’ if I failed to append my signature,” he stated in the letter.
He added, “In order to confuse and hoodwink the organs of immediate justice and to circumvent the course of justice, this illegal early retirement was processed at night, within hours, with stern orders from the perpetrator directing that legal procedures were unnecessary.”
Wambugu further stated that on January 21, 2005, he wrote to the Commissioner of Police regarding the matter, requesting revocation of the early retirement letter, which had not originated from him, but no action was taken.
He claims he was never given a chance to be heard, contrary to the law. According to the Police Service Standing Orders, no early retirement can be processed unless the officer either gives three months’ written notice or surrenders one month’s basic salary to the government in lieu of notice, neither of which was done in his case.
“None of these two legal and mandatory requirements was applied. This forced and illegal early retirement was the height of impunity and inexplicable injustice,” he stated in his letter to the Chief Justice. He added, “Unless justice is served, my cry for justice shall persist. I still require ongoing medication for injuries sustained in the line of duty.”
Wambugu has since written several follow-ups to the Chief Justice without success and he has also sought to get the attention of President Ruto.
Wambugu, who hails from Othaya Constituency in Nyeri County, joined the GSU in 1992. He was selected to guard Kibaki during the 1997 general elections after completing the VIP protection course.
