7 MCAs held for 14 days over assault
The seven Homa Bay MCAs, who are accused of assaulting Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo, in a Kisumu court on November 16, 2018. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Seven members of the Homa Bay County Assembly were on Friday detained at Kodiaga Maximum Security Prison for two weeks over the assault of Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo.
Kisumu resident magistrate Rose Ndombi allowed the prosecution’s plea after it argued that it was necessary to avoid interference in the investigations.
“Releasing them at this time may interfere with the ongoing investigations given their positions in the County Assembly," the prosecution argued.
The seven are Mr Evans Marieba, Mr Dan Were, Mr Paul Ongoro, Mr Walter Muok (majority leader), Mr Philemon Onditi, Mr Peter Kaula and Mr Julius Gaya.
The defence lawyers led by Ken Omollo, Aggrey Mwamu and Sam Onyango accused the prosecution of attempting to mistreat their clients by denying them their constitutional rights.
"It is suspicious that the charges are being preferred one month after the occurrence. What guarantee do we have that they will conclude their investigations now given that the incident took place exactly one month today," said Mr Omollo, the lead counsel for the team.
The MCAs allegedly attacked Speaker Ayoo on October 16.
