A Nairobi Court has been told that the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is intimidating and frustrating the witnesses in Sh 1.5 billion land dispute case pending in the High Court by locking up a lawyer and an alleged owner of the land.
This emerged following the arrest and arraignment of lawyer Moses Abongo Owour and Ohas Otieno the alleged owner of the multi-billion property within Embakasi in Nairobi.
Owour was arrested at the Milimani Law Courts basement cells on Friday morning when he went to seek instructions from Otieno who has been arrested and was scheduled to take plea before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina.
To his surprise Owour was informed by police at the court’s basement cells that his name also appears in the charge against his client Otieno and Bernard Abere Ogechi who is at large.
“The Deputy President is interested in adjourned the case next week. To get that adjournment by locking up and intimidating the advocates for the parties in that case is a classic teaching aide for abuse of the court process,” defence lawyers Elisha Ongoya and Appolo Mboya.
The lawyers urged the magistrate not to allow his court to be used by Gachagua to interfere with a High Court case in which a company associated with him is claiming ownership of land in dispute.
“Do not allow Deputy President Gachagua to use this court to frustrate the High Court listed for hearing on June 21 and 21,2023 before Milimani Environment And Lands Court,” lawyers Ongoya said.
Gachagua is listed at the sole witness in the high court case for Wamunyoro investment limited while Otieno is witnesses in the same case. Both parties are expected to prove ownership of the sh 1.5 billion case.
