Abel Mogaka, an advocate at the High Court in Eldoret accused of killing his colleague Calvin Muhanji at a house party on 18th May 2019 has been released on a Sh1 million cash bail by Justice Hellen Omondi.
Despite a pre-bail report having opposed Mogaka’s plea to be released on bail, Justice Omondi dismissed the reasons given by the probation officer while affirming that every accused person has a right to be granted bail.
“There are circumstances in law that would inform this court to deny the accused person bail but the reasons stated herein would not warrant continued detention of the accused and therefore his plea to be given bail has been granted,” said Omondi.
The prosecution had cited interference of witnesses, fresh emotions of the deceased family barely a months after his death and the safety of the accused person as the key reasons to continue detaining the accussed.
But in her ruling, Omondi dismissed both reasons saying it was natural for bereaved persons to mourn their loved ones and that investigating officer had failed to demonstrate how he would interfere with prosecution witnesses.
The judge however ordered Mogaka to stay away from Eldoret for next three months besides reporting to the DCI office n Eldoret East after every fortnight. Aggrieved the Court’s decision to grant the accused bail, the victim’s family through lawyer Amos Magut says it is exploring other options which may include appealing or withdrawing the case in its entirety for lack of confidence in the judicial process.