Five suspects in MP Charles Ong’ondo Were murder case to know their fate tomorrow

The JKIA Law Courts will on Friday rule on whether it will proceed with a miscellaneous application involving five suspects arrested in connection with the death of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were.

This follows objections raised by the defence lawyers, who challenged the court's jurisdiction.

The defence argued that the miscellaneous application filed by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking to detain the suspects for 30 days pending investigations, should not be heard at the JKIA Law Courts.

Instead, they maintained that the matter should be handled either at the Milimani Law Courts or the Kibera Law Courts.

“This is a classic case of forum shopping. The application was mischievously filed at JKIA. If the applicant, who is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), was not satisfied with Kibera as the right forum, then the proper alternative would have been the Milimani Law Courts. Any suspect to be charged should appear before the Kibera High Court,” the defence submitted.

They urged the court to decline jurisdiction and transfer the matter in accordance with Section 67 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The prosecution, however, maintained that the suspects were brought to court within the legally permitted 24-hour window, which had not lapsed. They argued that the defence application was therefore premature.

Meanwhile, controversy arose over one of the suspects, Philip Aroko, who was not presented in court.

“Yesterday, my client, Philip Aroko, voluntarily presented himself at Gigiri Police Station after the DCI posted a notice on Twitter. We are now seeking to know his whereabouts and whether he will be brought before this court,” said lawyer Danstan Omari.

However, the court dismissed the application regarding Aroko’s appearance.