Anger as Kenyan MP accused of shooting DJ makes bail

Nairobians Tuesday woke up to banners mounted by unknown people on footbridges along major roads leading to the central business district calling out the judiciary on its rulings perceived as selective.

The banners ask why Kenya’s criminal justice system favours the rich and condemns the poor.

The banners cropped up on major footbridges just hours after Embakasi East MP Babu Owino was released on a Sh10 million cash bail in a case in which he was accused of shooting Felix Orinda, popularly known as DJ Evolve.

BAIL RULING

In a quite unusual bail ruling, Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi directed that the Sh10 million cash bail be paid in four instalments of Sh2.5 million each for the next four months.

The lawmaker will be released after paying the first instalment of Sh2.5 million.

As part of the bail terms, the magistrate further said the money will be used towards the victim’s medication with the amount that remains unused serving as bail.

“Akashas were free in Kenya for over four years, but were jailed in two months by a USA court. We demand a working judiciary free of corrupt judges now,” a banner erected at the Nyayo Stadium roundabout read.

POOR INMATES

Another one on a footbridge in Pangani asked: “Why [are] the majority of inmates in Kenya the poor?”

Along Landhies Road, a banner asked why powerful people in Kenya never go to jail.

“Will Kidero, Sonko or Waititu ever step in jail for corruption?”

Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta challenged the judiciary to deliver convictions in corruption cases to prove that the country is headed in the right direction in the war against the vice.

The President said that no administration in the history of the country has prosecuted cases the way he has done.

DRUG DEALERS

A week earlier, the President said he will not side with evildoers and shamed the judiciary for failing to convict drug peddlers and those facing corruption charges.

Addressing the nation from State House in Mombasa, President Kenyatta cited the recent drug trafficking case involving two Akasha brothers who were sentenced for more than 20 years in the US, saying that Kenya’s judiciary is not taking matters seriously.

The Akasha cases were completed within a year from the time they were extradited.

AKASHAS

“I think it is a shame on our country that we prosecuted a case against drug traffickers in our country and we couldn’t get a conviction and, within a year of them being arraigned in the United States, they have been jailed for not less than 25 years. That is something that our judiciary should come to terms with,” he said.

Ibrahim Akasha was sentenced to 23 years on January 10 while his brother Baktash, accused of being a ringleader in the drugs trade, got 25 years in August 2019.

A number of governors, principal secretaries and procurement officers, among other senior government officials, have been barred from office after being charged in court.