Seven accused persons in the robbery with violence case leading to the murder of former Kabete Constituency MP, George Muchai got a shock when a court declined to entertain their application seeking to declare the charges against them unconstitutional.
Instead, the trial magistrate Lucas Onyina fixed a judgement date saying the accused persons have declined to give their defence.
” The case was coming for defence hearing but the accused persons have declined to tender defences. I will deliver my judgement on October 22,2024 at 2pm,” magistrate Onyina ruled.
The decision to pronounce the judgement came after the suspects for the fourth time made an application to have charges drop on grounds that they are unconstitutional and do not meet the legal threshold.
Through lawyer Stephen Ongaro the accused applied to be discharged saying the charges are illegal following a High Court decision declaring robbery with violence charges unconstitutional.
They further cited justice Anthony Mrima’s judgement declaring charges drawn and filed by police illegal and unconstitutional.
Ongaro in his submissions the does meet the legal threshold and the accused persons can not be called upon to defend themselves on an illegal charge.
“The section the accused persons are charged can not stand on its own and therefore they can be called up to defend non-existent charges,”Ongaro said.
But the DPP defended the charges saying they are proper and application by the accused is a ploy to further delay the determination of the case.
