The family of the late Tecra Muigai want the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji to appoint another prosecutor to handle the case involving their daughter over lack of confidence.
The Keroche Breweries Limited bosses are also opposing the DPP’s move to withdraw the inquest from Milimani magistrate court to Lamu court.
“Owing to the withdrawal of the confidence of the family of the deceased from the Director of Public Prosecution, he should cease from the matter and appoint an independent prosecutor to handle the matter going forward,” said Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja.
While opposing the move by the prosecution, the family said that as a result of the above conduct on the part of the DPP, they no longer have confidence in the DPP handling the matter in strict compliance with the dictates of the constitution and the law adding that they have many unanswered questions on what extrinsic interest the DPP may have in the matter.
The family strongly believes that based on the foregoing conduct of the DPP, he is responding to instructions and/or pressure from elsewhere to avoid bringing to account whoever may have been responsible for the death of their kin.
In her affidavit, Tabitha says that decision to withdraw the inquest from Nairobi came as a extreme shock to the family to learn that the DPP has made another whimsical and arbitrary decision to terminate or withdraw the inquest proceedings from the Chief Magistrates Court at Milimani Law Courts with an indication of getting the same instituted at Lamu Law Courts.
“That family of the deceased finds it hard to believe that it is a mere coincidence that there has been the foregoing flip-flopping on the part of the Director of Public Prosecutions evidenced by a decision to charge the key suspect with murder at Garsen Law Courts, followed by a near simultaneous recall of the said decision and the decision to institute the present inquest proceedings at Milimani Law Courts followed by a near simultaneous decision to withdraw the said inquest proceedings from the said courts,” added Tabitha.
Tabitha further added that Lari Omar, Tecra’s boyfriend and key suspect in the matter is an influential person among boat owners, operators and beach boys around Lamu Island and yet bought transport is the singular most reliable form of transport for accessing Lamu Islands hence there is real and well-founded fear in the family that they may not travel to and from Lamu Islands to attend and participate in the inquest proceedings at Lamu without significant threat to their life and safety.
The suspect was arraigned at the Garsen High Court as directed by the magistrate at Lamu Law Courts and directions were taken at Garsen that he be processed by way of a psychiatric examination which is a standard procedure antecedent to plea taking in murder charges.
She added that there had been a change of mind by the DPP and that the decision to charge Omar had been recalled and a new decision had been made to institute an inquest in the murder.
