Embakasi East lawmaker Babu Owino will spend the next couple of days in jail pending a bail report.
Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi today (20.01.2020) directed Babu Owino be remanded for 7 days pending the bail ruling.
The bail report is to be done by the probation department and presented in court on the 27th of January 2020.
Babu denied two criminal charges, an unlawful attempt to cause the death of a Nairobi DJ and carrying a firearm while drunk and disorderly following his arraignment before Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi over last week’s gun drama at Nairobi’s B-Club.
Owino, formally known as Paul Ongili, was accused of unlawfully attempting to end the life of Felix Odhiambo Orinda after shooting him in the neck, contrary to Section 222 of the Penal Code.
The offence commonly referred to as accessory after the fact to murder attracts life imprisonment. “Any person who becomes an accessory after the fact to murder is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life,” Section 222 of the Penal Code reads.
Owino also faced a second charge arising from his disorderly conduct while armed, the prosecution telling the court the legislator violated Sections 33 and 31 (1) of the Firearms Act.
The Act (Section 33) prescribes imprisonment for a term not exceeding a year, a fine not exceeding Sh10,000 or both for any person found guilty of carrying a firearm while drunk or disorderly.
Section 34 (1) further prescribes a sentence not less than seven years but not exceeding fifteen years for, the possession and use of a firearm with, “intent to commit any criminal offence.”
Owino’s lawyer, Cliff Ombeta, filed an application for the release of the MP asking the court instead to restrict him from accessing B-Club, the scene of the crime, where the prosecution said potential witnesses work.
A viral CCTV footage from the club showed Owino, a former University of Nairobi student leader, shooting the DJ while smoking shisha, and surrounded by his friends including a lady who was seated just next to him.
The DJ is still admitted to Nairobi Hospital having undergone surgeries to remove a bullet that was lodged in his neck.
The shooting elicited concerns, with many asking why B-Club was still operating despite a court order last year that it should be closed. Many also wondered why the club continued to offer its clients shisha which is a banned substance in Kenya.
The Kenyan deejays fraternity is up in arms over the shooting of one of their own and are calling for justice to be served with the #JusticeForDJEvolve.
This article was first published by Capital News.
