High Court judge Alexander Muteti will today rule on an application where suspects accused of murdering former Kabete MP George Muchai challenged their prosecution on charges of robbery with violence.
Eric Isabwa, Raphael Kimani, Mustapha Kimani, Stephen Astiva, Jane Wanjiru, Margaret Njeri, and Simon Wambugu argue that the charges of robbery with violence against them do not exist in law as the High Court had declared their provisions unconstitutional in 2016.
The suspects were charged in 2015.
Chief magistrate Lucas Onyina was scheduled to deliver judgment in the case on October 22 but the suspects informed the court that they had secured orders from the High Court stopping the delivery of the judgment.
The suspects were charged with 10 counts of violently robbing six victims, including two sisters, Gladys Waithera and Irene Muthoni, on the same night they allegedly murdered Muchai.
Isabwa told the court that they had challenged the trial court's decision to render a judgment in the case without allowing them to present their defenses.
This decision to proceed with judgment followed four refusals by the accused to present their defences, saying the charges of robbery with violence against them do not exist in law.
Lawyer Stephen Ongaro said the charges against the suspects are illegal and non-existent in law and that the trial magistrate's insistence on moving forward with the case, despite the absence of valid charges, violated the suspects' rights to a fair trial.
Ongaro said compelling the accused to present defenses for charges that no longer hold legal validity constituted a significant error of law.
The magistrate had previously ruled that he lacked jurisdiction to determine constitutional issues related to the charges, which are meant to be addressed by the High Court.
Justice Muteti’s ruling is expected to provide a clear way forward.
EACC, High Court case
At the Court of Appeal, the hearing of a case where EACC is challenging a High Court decision that allowed a junior City Hall official to keep assets worth Sh643 million continues today.
The anti-graft agency had wanted the assets forfeited to the state arguing they were proceeds of crime and unexplained wealth.
High Court judge Nixon Sifuna had said he was satisfied with the explanation by Wilson Nashon Kanani and his wife on how they got the wealth and issued orders unfreezing cash in five bank accounts owned by the couple.
