High Court Judge Jessie Lessit has asked Nairobi lawyer Cliff Ombeta to hand over Willy Kimani murder case to another advocate if he will not be well to appear in court by next month.
Ombeta has been representing three of the accused persons in the case but he failed to appear in court while citing health reasons.
Lessit said that if Ombeta has no choice but to ask the accused to find another lawyer if his health continues to deteriorate.
She gave the directive on Wednesday after she was told that Ombeta as not fully recovered to represent his clients in court after falling ill.
The judge said that the case was taking a bit too long than expected after Ombeta failed to appear in court on three occasions where he is expected to represent the trio.
Lawyer Kevin Michuki has been picked to represent the fifth accused person in the case. The new development came after Peter Ngugi rejected lawyer Nelius Kinyori representing him on the grounds that she is a woman.
“I want a good lawyer ….a man like a lawyer Nyaberi,” Ngugi has told the court, as quoted by Citizen Digital.
Michuki has since asked the court to give him more time to cross-examine the case before appearing before the court.