Body by Design hospital owners to spend two weeks in custody

Proprietors of a city clinic and a doctor who works at the facility will remain remanded for two weeks after a bond ruling on their case was pushed to April 15.

Surgeon Robert Mutula was charged alongside Omnicare Medical Limited also known as Body by Design owners George Njoroge and Lillian Edna Winjiru with manslaughter charges.

They denied the charges before Kibera senior principal magistrate Samson Temu on Wednesday.

The court was due to rule on their bond application on Thursday afternoon but the magistrate instead directed that a probation report be prepared before the court could decide on whether to grant bond and the appropriate terms.

Temu said the various arguments made by both the state for denial of bond and the defence in favour of granting bond had left the two parties far apart hence the need for the court to better understand the matter.

He said the court required a pre-bail report to guide it on the bond decision so as to balance the rights of both the victims and the accused persons.

"I thus order the probation officer to prepare a pre-bail report that will balance the rights of both parties and guide the court on bond ruling and terms," Temu said.

The court directed that the report be availed in court on or before April 15, 2025.

The decision means the accused persons will stay in remand until then.

The magistrate said he was alive to the feelings of the defence as regards the court decision but added that it was important that the proceedings be seen as a fair judicial process that is allowed to flow naturally without mischief.

The court had on Wednesday directed that the accused be remanded at the Industrial Area prison and Langata Women's prison respectively.

The charges against Mutula, George and Wanjiru stem from allegations of a botched cosmetic surgery linked to the death of businesswoman Lucy Wambui.

Wambui died in October last year from complications from a surgical procedure. The social media influencer underwent a cosmetic surgery at Omnicare Medical clinic, also known as Body by Design, and was discharged on October 18.

The clinic is co-owned by George Wakaria and his wife Edna Wanjiru who are husband and wife.

The Director of Public Prosecutions through senior prosecution council Victor Owiti has opposed their release on bond.

Owiti said the accused persons being the owners of the facility, were the employers of witnesses lined up to testify.

"As such, they are likely to interfere with the witnesses if released on bond," Owiti said.

Owiti said the likelihood of interfering with witnesses was a compelling reason to deny bond.

He said the charge of manslaughter was so serious with a possible sentence of life imprisonment hence the seriousness of the matter.

Defence lawyers led by Danstan Omari, Cliff Ombeta, Samson Nyaberi and Shadrack Wambui in seeking bond said no evidence of witnesses interference had been tabled to warrant the denial of bond.

"The state says the accused persons may interfere yet no such evidence has been tabled before the court," Ombeta said.

Wambui said the court was being invited to limit the rights and freedoms of the accused persons by denying them bond.

"However serious the offence is, it cannot be the reason to deny bail or bond," Wambui said.

But Owiti countered saying the victim's family also had rights which the court ought to balance.

He argued that the accused should remain in custody during the hearing of the case to prevent the possibility of endangering the lives of other members of the public.

In ordering for a pre-bail report on Thursday, magistrate Temi said bond was a right that can only be suspended if compelling reasons are provided.