The court has released Ian Njoroge a teen who is charged with attacking and robbing a police officer at Mirema on bond of Sh 700,000 with a surety of the same amount.
The student who is pursuing a Civil Structural Engineering course at the Technical University of Kenya had been in custody awaiting his fate on whether to be released or denied bond for five days.
In delivering the ruling, the magistrate stated to have considered the submissions by the prosecution and the defense and noted that there was no compelling reason provided before the court to deny him bond,
“I have considered submissions by both parties and no compelling reason submitted to deny the accused bond,” said the magistrate.
The court heard that Article 49 of the constitution gives the accused persons the right to liberty by releasing them on bond unless there are compelling reasons to deny the same.
The magistrate also quoted Article 52 of the constitution which gives the accused the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,
“The accused cannot be treated as a convict until proven guilty hence he has the right to liberty,” stated Ekhumbi.
The prosecution had earlier requested the court to give a probation officer Jane Muturi seven days to avail the report which she said was not yet ready.
The officer said that the matter was deferred to them on Wednesday where she managed to interview the parents of Njoroge but did not manage to interview their son who was in hospital.
She added that she is yet to interview the complainant who was also in hospital.
Pleading with the court before senior principal magistrate Benmark Ekhumbi, the officer said they needed to listen to the victim and the suspect verifying every information provided before presentation in court.
Ms. Muturi told the court that she needed to go to the field to gather the information and verify every detail,
“I am only seeking seven days to conclude the report which standard time is 14 days to produce a comprehensive report,” she said.
Muturi told the court that she had asked Ian’s parents to forward the medical report regarding the assault complaints and they are yet to produce it.
The defense lawyers led by Dancun Okatch rejected the prayers by the prosecution and the officer claiming that the rights of the accused person were abused,
“Your honor I pray this court to release the accused on bond or cash bail since the prosecution sought three days when he was arraigned and the court granted the time,” submitted Okatch.
Okatch said that the prosecution had enough time to make the report considering that today is the fifth day since he was charged.
The lawyer also wanted the accused to be released to go back to the police station to report the assault and injuries alleged to have been inflicted by a police officer who arrested him,
“The accused suffered a lot in the hands of police who inflicted injuries on his body where he is unable to chew the food or anything due to injuries on the jaws,”
He urged the magistrate to balance the circumstances in the eyes of the public who are closely following the matter.
In his ruling, the magistrate released the accused on bond of Sh 700,000 with a surety of the same amount without an alternative of cash bail.
The matter will be mentioned on July 10, this year for further directions.