Within the corridors of justice, it is no secret that high court judge Justice Jesse Lessit is a tough judge.
She abhors lawyers who get into her courtroom unprepared and loves justice to the core.
To many lawyers, Justice Lessit is a fair judge.
Those facing capital offences shiver the moment they remember that she sentenced Ruth Kamande to hang.
That is the judge Migori Governor Okoth Obado secured a bail from as his three personal assistants failed the same.
In giving her ruling on the bail issue, Justice Lessit said the prosecution failed to link Obado directly to the murder of Sharon Otieno and only relied on circumstantial evidence and hence ‘it would be dangerous to deny him bail at this juncture’.
“Although the court cannot make conclusive findings of the evidence supplied at this juncture, I find that there is only circumstantial evidence referring to the first accused (Obado). It would, therefore, be dangerous now to use that kind of evidence to deny him bail,” the court ruled.
And with that ruling, the court released Obado with a Sh5 million bail and two sureties.
For Obado’s personal assistants, things seemed tough as the court found that they were directly linked to the murder.
“There is strong evidence against the second and third accused. Releasing them now will send anxiety to witnesses. There is also a likelihood of them absconding based on the seriousness of the charge,” Justice Lessit ruled.
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