Wycliffe Nyamasege
Four of the six lawmakers, who were detained at Pangani police station over alleged hate speech remarks made in 2016, prior to the 2017 General Election, have been acquited of incitement charges by a Nairobi court.
The four are Junet Mohammed (Suna East), Aisha Jumwa (Malindi), Timothy Bosire (former Kitutu Masaba lawmaker) and Florence Mutua (Busia Woman rep).
In her ruling on Thursday, chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku said the charge sheet was defective and not clear.
She further stated that their cash bail will be refunded.
The four were arrested and detained at Pangani Police station for four days alongside former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama and Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.
Read: Moses Kuria Acquitted Of Incitement Charges Against Raila Odinga, Wife Ida
Muthama, in a past rally, is quoted saying that his five colleagues elected him captain while in the police cell.
“When we were taken to Pangani, I was elected the captain by my colleagues due to my longtime experience as a leader. They trusted me with responsibilities and I used to assign each of them duties and they were very obedient,” he said.
Muthama, a then fierce Cord coalition defender, noted that Moses Kuria was appointed to be his deputy.
Read Also: Orengo, Muthama, Musalia Bringing Raila Down So As To Take Over From Him – Moses Kuria
”Kuria was elected my deputy and he was equally a very hardworking person. I always thought he was harmful but my interaction with him at the police cell depicted a different picture of him,” added Muthama.
According to Muthama, despite the group being united by ‘circumstances’, political rivalry still played out even in the cells.
“But because we had that political animosity, those from Cord slept in shifts. Bosire could be alert at some given time so was Junnet and I so that we could combat any danger from our colleagues from Jubilee,” he claimed.
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