HIGH COURT BLOCKS BID TO STOP OJWANG'S MURDER TRIAL

High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi has declined a request by Central Police Station OCS Samson Talaam to halt his murder prosecution over the death of blogger Albert Ojwang’.
Instead, Justice Mugambi allowed a request by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) to transfer the case to the High Court in Kibera, where an active murder trial against Talaam and Police Constable James Mukhwana is already ongoing.
Justice Mugambi ruled on Monday that the petition filed by Talaam and Mukhwana seeking to bar their prosecution and instead compel the State to open an inquest into Ojwang’s death, should be determined by the Kibera High Court to avoid conflicting decisions.
“The petitioners are already charged before the High Court in Kibera. Any orders issued by this court may run cross-purpose with the proceedings before the Kibera court. I thus direct that this file be transferred to the High Court in Kibera for further directions,” Justice Mugambi stated.
He stressed the need to avoid jurisdictional conflicts, warning that continued litigation in two separate courts on the same matter would lead to contradictory outcomes. The ruling followed an oral application by the DPP and Ipoa to transfer the matter and oppose the conservatory orders sought by the officers to suspend their prosecution.