Lawyer Kipchumba Murkomen was schooled during Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s corruption case.
Murkomen found himself in a pickle after being put in his place by anti-corruption Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti.
The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator, when questioned why they brought a sick Sonko to court, responded that they did not want to take chances.
Murkomen caught unawares
The vocal politician explained that allegations levelled by the prosecution team against the county boss put them on alert.
“Your honour, we did not want to take chances. There was a narrative already that he is a flight risk. There was an occasion in the past where he was in a similar manner. If we came here without him then your honour, we would be taking an unnecessary risk,” remarked Murkomen.
The tables turned when the Senator was left ashamed in regards to the details of the case.
According to Ogoti the Majority Leader of the Senate did not know how matters in the anti-corruption court were handled.
He further joked that he was aware that the leader did not practise in such courts.
The magistrate stated that Sonko’s legal team did not have to present him in court in the state he was.
Sonko should not have been in court
The no-nonsense magistrate advised the lawyers to do their research better to avert such situations in the future.
“Each individual rights of an accused is considered singular even if they are charged together.
“Which means the absence of an accused person can’t be charged separately from the others. So your fear was unfounded,” explained Ogoti.
He added, “You didn’t have to disturb a sick person from the hospital. I would have still gone ahead and issued directions.”
Murkomen refusing to go down without a fight, declared that the anti-corruption magistrate would have done the same if he was in his shoes.
Light moment as Senator Murkomen gets schooled by Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti as he attempted to justify their decision of bringing a sick person to court.
“You didn’t have to disturb a sick person from hospital, I still would have gone ahead and given directions” – Ogoti pic.twitter.com/LqwQyO0J0U
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) December 11, 2019
Sonko finally heaved a sigh of relief after he was set free on a cash bail of Ksh 15 million or a bond of Ksh 30 million and surety of the same.
The leader’s freedom, nevertheless, came at a price as the major blow was that he was barred from accessing his office.