Court discharges Marsabit MPs arrested on incitement charges
North Horr MP Chachu Ganya (left) and his Saku colleague Dido Ali Rasso at the Milimani Law Courts on October 23, 2018. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Director of Public Prosecutions had intended to charge Mr Rasso with promoting war-like activities by supplying food, water and firearms to raiders.
The prosecution said they were investigating Mr Ganya over allegations of incitement to violence following the clashes in Jaldesa, Lagdema, Boruharro and Shurr.
A Nairobi court has discharged two MPs from Marsabit County who were being probed over allegations of incitement.
The prosecution had asked the court to grant them two more weeks to complete the investigations and charge North Horr MP Chachu Ganya and his Saku counterpart Dido Rasso over clashes that rocked the county last year.
The court also heard that the inciting words were uttered in Borana dialect and translation had not been completed. It was also the prosecution’s case that some of the witnesses had been displaced by the clashes, which had claimed 14 lives by last October.
The prosecution also told the court they were yet to receive communication from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and showing the extent of the investigations in the matter.
But Principal Magistrate Bernard Nzakyo said that four months was enough time for the prosecution to carry out the investigation and prefer charges against the two legislators.
He said he does not see a justification to extend the probe. The court also directed the cash bail of Sh250,000 each, which the MPs had deposited in court to secure their freedom, be released to them.
Director of Public Prosecutions had intended to charge Mr Rasso with promoting war-like activities by supplying food, water and firearms to raiders.
The prosecution said they were investigating Mr Ganya over allegations of incitement to violence following the clashes in Jaldesa, Lagdema, Boruharro and Shurr. They said the MP uttered the words in May last year, but its effects were still being felt.
The court heard that the MP repeated the same words on September 14 and the matter was reported at Marsabit Central Police Station. Further, the prosecutor said they suspect the MP was funding and providing logistical support to those causing violence.
The court had freed them on bond last October, despite pleas by the prosecution to detain them. The court noted that the MPs were involved in peace and reconciliation process.
