Senior prosecution counsel Catherine Mwaniki had cautioned that there is a high chance of them “interfering, intimidating and even killing witnesses.”/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 6 – The High Court has released four county askari’s accused of killing a hawker on a Sh2 million bond or an alternative cash bail of Sh500,000.
Judge Justice James Wakiaga says upon securing their release, they should be re-deployed from Central Business District and report to OCPD Central every 30 days until their criminal case is heard and determined.
He directed that they should appear before head of criminal division on April 27 for purposes of taking a hearing date.
The Director of Public Prosecution was however opposed to their release over the safety of witnesses.
A postmortem shows the victim had more than eight stabs.
Senior prosecution counsel Catherine Mwaniki had cautioned that there is a high chance of them “interfering, intimidating and even killing witnesses.”
“The wife of the deceased is living in fear. If the accused are released on bail, she and other witnesses might fear to testify,” Mwaniki said.
Instead, the state lawyer called for the four to be placed in a pretrial detention until key witnesses testify.
She informed the court that the arrest of the four had previously been frustrated by police.
The accused are Alfred Ogesi alias Brown, Ambani Akasi alias Wasiwasi, Julius Ochieng and Protus Maringo alias Sarara.
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