Kenya's pharmaceutical society boss to be charged with contempt

The president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, Dr Paul Mwaniki, is set to appear before a Kibera Court on Thursday to answer charges of contempt of court.

Dr Mwaniki was arrested on Wednesday evening and spent the night in police custody following a warrant of arrest issued against him by Kibera Principal Magistrate Benard Ochoi for refusing to honour the court summons.

The magistrate ordered the police to arrest the PSK boss before July 16 after he failed to appear to answer to a charge of harassing officials at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).

Dr Mwaniki was summoned to appear in court last week after a disagreement at the PPB offices on Lenana Road in Nairobi on May 15, where he was accused of insulting the agency’s registrar, Dr Kipkerich Koskei.

He had sent a lawyer to represent him in court and file an excuse for his non-attendance on the grounds that he was unwell.

TWO WEEKS TO RECUPERATE

He had requested that he be given two weeks to recuperate before pleading to the charges.

The magistrate, however, rejected the application to defer the plea for two weeks, saying there was no evidence that he was sick.

“There is no evidence or any medical report to show that the accused is incapacitated. I therefore issue a warrant of arrest against the accused. Let the police do their work, arrest him and bring him to court when the case will be mentioned on July 16,” ruled the magistrate.

A charge sheet had been drawn stating that Dr Mwaniki created a disturbance at the PPB offices by shouting and banging tables. He allegedly told the registrar that he (Dr Koskei) was just a mere junior officer and threatened to use his powers to have him fired.

Dr Mwaniki is also the managing director of the Kileleshwa Medical Plaza.

Apart from being the national chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, he also serves as a member of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.