Five suspects arrested in connection with the death of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were shall know their fate tomorrow. The JKIA Law Courts will on Friday rule on whether it will proceed with a miscellaneous application involving the suspects, or not.
This follows objections raised by the defence lawyers, who challenged the court’s jurisdiction arguing that the application filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to lock the suspects up in detention for 30 days as the investigations continue, shouldn’t be heard at JKIA law courts.
“This is a classic case of forum shopping. The application was mischievously filed at JKIA. If the applicant, who is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), was not satisfied with Kibera as the right forum, then the proper alternative would have been the Milimani Law Courts. Any suspect to be charged should appear before the Kibera High Court,” the defence read.
The defence, further told the court to transfer the matter in accordance with Section 67 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and to also reject jurisdiction.
The persecution, however, argued that the defence application is premature citing that suspects were brought to court within the legally permitted 24-hour window, which had not expired.
