Sunshine school students to take plea in attempted arson case

A Nairobi Court has ordered eight Sunshine Secondary School students to take plea on attempted arson case after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko appealed against an out-of-court deal between the school and parents.

Judge Luka Kimaru said the eight can explore out-of-court settlement after they answer to the criminal charges.

The students were given a personal bond of 50 thousand shillings each.

They will take the plea on August 2nd, 2016.

Three days ago, the eight students were arraigned before the children court but did not take the plea after their lawyer Cliff Ombeta requested for time to settle the matter out of court.

The DPP later moved to the high court and challenged the ruling by magistrate Lucy Girari.

In an application made on Tuesday, Tobiko called for a review of the decision saying the Chief Magistrate’s ruling is a “contravention of Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code which lays down the parameters for alternative dispute resolution, and also goes against public interest.”

“The applicant was, and still is, satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to charge the Subjects/Respondents with the offences on record and is desirous to proceed with the hearing of this matter,” stated Tobiko.