A Nairobi court has ruled that an affidavit by Keroche breweries Tabitha Karanja opposing DPP’S request to transfer the inquest to Lamu court was properly filed at Milimani Law Courts.
Magistrate Zainabu Abdul has given Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP) Noordin Haji 3 days to file a response to Tabitha’s affidavit.
Abdul said the affidavit was properly filed because it was served on social media which is a proper platform.
Haji through senior State Counsel Joseph Riungu wanted the inquest to be heard at Lamu where incident and the key witnesses are but on the hand Tabitha argued that the key suspect is influential and she is worried about her security.
Tabitha through lawyer James Orengo says that she has no confidence with how Haji is handling this matter as he seeks to withdraw application for the inquest from Nairobi to Lamu while Nairobi’s court according to the magistrate do have Jurisdiction to hear the inquest.
“Following the death of my daughter Patricia Tecra at the Nairobi Hospital on May 2,2020 which is a most painful experience for me as a parent,and the family of the deceased as a whole,we allowed the authorities responsible for detection and investigation to investigate the surrounding the death of my daughter to get to the bottom of the cause of the death of my daughter.”added Tabitha in he affidavit.
The request by the DPP to withdraw the current inquest proceedings was made on Wednesday 30/9/2020.
The DPP raised a challenge on whether Mrs Karanja’s affidavit was properly filed before the court.
The DPP also raised a challenge to stop admission of an affidavit filed by DCI who has investigated Tecra’s death and also filed the inquest at Milimani as per their mandate.
The DPP also challenged the courts jurisdiction to hear the matter challenging the DPPs decision to shift the inquest already filed in Milimani, Nairobi to Lamu
It led to a heated session between Orengo and DPP. Orengo says the DPP behavior is unheard on his entire career.
He also questions why the DPP seems keen to delay and withhold information presented to him by the DCI (by attempting to block the DCI affidavit)
Finally Orengo quoted sections of the Criminal Procedure Act and the sections guiding the conduct of inquest which place the registration of inquest mandate with the Police and not the DPP.
The judge Zainab Abdul ruled that the Affidavit by the deceased mother Tabitha Karanja was properly filed through efiling launched by the Chief Justice and exquisite fee paid for before the court. Hence the court has ruled that the Affidavit was properly served before this court.
The magistrate Zainab further directed prosecution to serve and file and serve their response by 9th of October and counsel for the deceased’s mother to serve their Supplementary affidavit by 13th.
Hearing will be on the 14th of October where the DPP will respond to Tabitha’s affidavit and explain their reasons for wanting to move the inquest to Lamu.
Tabitha said that the family of the deceased finds it hard to believe that the consistent flip flopping by the DPP is a mere coincidence as evidenced by a decision to charge the suspect with at Garsen Law Courts, followed by a near simultaneous recall of the said decision
The decision by the DPP to institute the present inquest proceedings at Milimani Law Courts followed by a near simultaneous decision to withdraw the said inquest proceedings from the said courts.
DPP granted 3 days to respond to Keroche Breweries Company CEO Tabitha Karanja’s application seeking to stop transfer of inquest from Nairobi.
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