A case involving three police officers in which they were accused of extra judicial killings failed to kick off in at a High Court in Kisumu after they raised concern in the manner in which their case was being handled.
Jonathan Kirigia, Parminus Murimi and Bernard Njoka who are both constables were brought to court to answer to murder charges but were not able to take pleas pending directions on their applications filed before court through their counsel.
The particulars of the offense were that on September 13, 2014 the three police officers murdered Wycliffe Otieno Ndiga and John Oduor Omondi at Manyatta Estate within Kisumu East Sub-County.
Last year, when the matter came before Resident Magistrate Martha Agutu, she directed that the case be disposed off by way of public inquest.
The prosecution however, had the public inquest withdrawn when it came up for mention on March 30 this year pending the fresh charges of murder to be read out at a higher court.
“We wish to have the matter withdrawn as the state has preferred that the accused be charged for murder,” stated the prosecution
Evalyne Ochieng the widow of Otieno who testified during the public inquest proceedings recalled that on the fateful day, the deceased came home at around 1:30pm and shortly the accused entered her house and asked for the deceased.
“I was with my daughter and niece who together we were ordered to go outside the house but as I stood along the corridor I overheard one of the three men who had a firearm say ‘today I will finish you’ ,” testified the widow before court.
“After a few minutes we had two gun shots but never saw the person who fired the gunshots. Crowd stated to build up around the place but shots were fired to disperse people,” she recalled.
According to the widow, Otieno was an Administration Officer working in Koibertek and would come home once a month for four to five days while Oduor sold second hand cloths behind Ukwala Market in Kisumu.
The accused are however, contesting the fresh chargers raised against them by the prosecution. Through a letter to the prosecution office written by their counsel, they stated that their case through the public inquest was scheduled for hearing on July 16 this year but later changed to March 9 with no formal communications done to them for summons hence the accused failed to be in court considering that they are police officers who are to give prior notice of their absence from duty stations.
This he says prompted the court to make a predetermined decision contrary to the principles of natural justice, fairness and good conscience of preferring charges against them whereas there is already in place a process initiated and concluded.
“We are perturbed too by the manner in which your office is directing and conducting itself in this matter, in which another parallel process, seems to be commenced on charging our clients at Kisumu High Court whereas the inquest process is still in existence,” noted the counsel through a letter filed before court.
The accused who were stationed at Kondele Police Station at the time of the incidents but have so far been transferred to different locations now awaits now awaits a court direction on April 7 after which they shall take pleas.
When they appeared before Judge Hillary Chemitei on Monday, he directed that the accused be released on a free bond of Sh100,000 each on a condition that they avail themselves in the subsequent court proceedings when needed