Mombasa MP Asha Hussein faces assault charges

Mombasa County Woman Representative Asha Mohammed Hussein has been charged with assaulting inspectorate traffic officer causing her serious bodily harm.

The suspect who appeared before Chief Magistrate Julius Nang’ea denied assaulting Mayasa Hassan, an inspectorate officer working in county traffic department.

The charge sheet states that the legislator unlawfully assaulted Ms Hassan causing her actual bodily harm.

The court was told that Ms Haasan was discharging her mandate of controlling traffic flow at Majengo area within the county when she was assaulted by the suspect.

 Ms Hassan who was seriously injured was admitted at Jocham hospital where she was admitted for about two weeks before being discharged.

The court heard that the legislator descended on the officer with beatings as she tried to instruct the convoy that was carrying the woman rep to follow traffic flow to ease the heavy jam that had build up around the Makupa round about.

The officer was concerned that the traffic was not flowing due to the heavy jam that had brought the junction to a standstill prompting the suspect to flout traffic rules to escape delaying in the traffic snarl-up that lasted for about an hour.

The suspect upon being stopped by the officer, jumped out of the car and descended on her with slaps before her body guards could intervene, the court heard.

The suspect committed the offence on May 11 at Majengo area.

Human right groups who thronged the court are now demanding that the woman rep step aside until her case is heard and determined.

Commission For Human Rights and Justice (CFHRJ) executive director Julius Ogogoh want Ms Hussein to step aside claiming she has failed integrity test.

The public have no confidence in her, we therefore call upon her to immediately step aside until her case is finalized,” Mr Ogogoh said.

The human right watch said the woman rep has betrayed electorate by acting in complete violation of a requirement of a public officer as provided for in the constitution.

The suspect through her lawyer Paul Buti asked the court to release her on lenient bond terms saying that the offence is bailable under the Kenyan law

State Counsel Erick Masila did not opposed bond but asked the magistrate to grant the suspect bond that commensurate with the offence. 

Ms Hussein was released on a Sh100,000 bond with one surety of a similar amount or on an alternative cash bail of Sh50,000. 

The case will be mentioned on June 28 for pre-trial directions.