High Court Lady Justice Jessie Lessit during a workshop on bonds and bail in Kisumu said the judiciary will continue to grant bail to suspects but only after being satisfied that the safety of victims or their accusers will not be compromised.
Lessit has been the talk of everyone in the country after showing her stunt on bails and bonds following the murder cases that have been before her, the Sharon Otieno and Monica Kimani’s murder cases.
The accused people in the above cases have hence been denied release on bail. It is only one accused, the Migori County governor Okoth Obado, who was granted this week with tough conditions.
Citizen TV Journalist Jacque Maribe and her fiance Joseph Irungu alias Joe Jowie who face murder charges over slain business woman Monica Kimani have been denied bail.
Obado’s co-accused two aides, Michael Oyamo and Caspal Obiero who face murder charges over Slain Rongo University student Sharon Otieno who was found murdered in Kodera forest have also been denied bail.
“It is a very serious matter to release an accused person when his life is at risk. In the past, we have had cases where they have been murdered just hours after their release,” Justice Lessit told the workshop at the Royal City hotel in Kisumu.
Speaking in general terms, the Lessit said judicial officers are under obligation to assess the safety of both the victim and the accused and balance it with the right to bail by accused persons before releasing them.
The training on bail and bond by the National Council on the Administration of Justice Bail and Bond Implementation Committee stressed that it is the prosecution’s responsibility to prove the risk before arguing for or against the release.
Justice Lesiit said the main reasons for denying an accused bail are probability of escaping from trial (flight risk), likelihood to abscond sessions and terms, and delay in submission of probation reports.
She said a potential punishment, its duration and magnitude — should the accused be found guilty — should not be among the compelling reasons to deny someone bail or bond.
“Compelling reasons entail undeniable factors that the court considers justifiable to deny bail to an accused person,” she said at the meeting attended by representatives from the Law Society of Kenya, Directorate of Public Prosecution, the Children’s Department, the police and the Probation Department.
But the judge who also heads the Milimani High Court Criminal Division, said those whose offence is punishable by a fine or only by imprisonment of not more than six months should not be remanded in custody.
While hearing the Obado case, the judge rejected their initial application to be released on bond after the prosecution raised security concerns in Migori County.
According to the Bail and Bond policy guidelines, the court may request for a bail information report from a probation officer before reviewing the terms. She later released Mr Obado arguing that there was only circumstantial evidence against him.