The prosecution experienced a major blow after eight witnesses refused testify against Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria in a hate speech case.
The prosecution which was represented by lawyer Kennedy Panyako on Tuesday told the court about the unwillingness of the witnesses to participate in the case.
Three witnesses whose testimonies were considered critical expressed unwillingness to issue their testimonies in writing.
The prosecutor went ahead to inform the court that they were seeking a court order that will compel the witnesses to appear in court and testify.
“We are seeking orders from the court to compel the witnesses to come and give evidence,” Panyako stated.
The defence team led by Kuria's lawyer Geoffrey Omenke moved to block a request from the prosecutor to bring in new witnesses.
“We plead with the court to disallow the prosecution to introduce new witnesses at this stage,” Omenke countered.
Kuria was on August 2, 2019 acquitted of hate speech charges by a different court after the evidence against him was dismissed.
In the case, the prosecution had submitted a video which was obtained from social media as part of the evidence.