Court rejects Mungatana's bid to lift arrest warrant
Garsen MP Danson Mungatana. Mombasa chief magistrate Stephen Riechi said no compelling reasons had been given for him to lift the warrant he issued last week. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- A Mombasa businessman, Mr Wilson Dzombo Dzilla, lodged a claim against Mr Mungatana for issuing three bad cheques of Sh700,000 each, amounting to Sh2.1 million.
- The MP allegedly issued the cheques to Chwile Investments Ltd, to be drawn on his bank account that had insufficient funds.
A bid by Garsen Member of Parliament Danson Mungatana to have a warrant of arrest against him cancelled has been rejected. Read (Court issues arrest warrant on Mungatana)
Mombasa chief magistrate Stephen Riechi on Monday said no compelling reasons had been given for him to lift the warrant he issued last week.
The arrest order was made after the MP failed to appear in court to answer charges of issuing three bad cheques amounting to Sh2.1 million.
The court heard that the MP wrote three cheques of Sh700,000 each to Chwile Investments Ltd on June 20, 2011 knowing that his bank account had insufficient funds.
The MP’s lawyer, Mr Kioko Kiume, has asked the court to set aside the warrant, saying, his client would come to court within 10 days.
Mr Kiume, who produced medical documents, said his client was not feeling well.
“The accused is an advocate of the High Court and knows the consequences of not appearing in court,” Mr Kiume said.
Prosecutor Samson Kiptum told the court that the warrant had not been effected as Mr Mungatana had gone underground.
He said no convincing reasons had been given for the warrant to be lifted and asked for a week to effect it.
The High Court had earlier dismissed a petition by Mr Mungatana in which he sought to have the criminal proceedings against him suspended.
The MP also sought an order allowing him to pay the Sh2.1 million in instalments.
Dismissing the petition, Mr Justice Francis Tuiyott said by requiring the MP to answer criminal charges, none of his fundamental rights were adversely affected or threatened.
Written reasons
“It is, therefore, my respectful view that the police had no constitutional obligation to give the petitioner written reasons for preferring charges against him,” the judge said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had, in his grounds of opposition to the MP’s petition, said criminal proceedings against the Mr Mungatana were not prompted by any ill motive on the part of law enforcement agencies.
