46 charged with breach of peace in Kisumu

Kisumu, Kenya: Some 46 people have been charged with creating disturbance in a manner likely to cause breach of peace at Nyalenda estate, Kisumu County.

Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochieng, 22 of them were accused of barricading the Nyalenda Ring-Road road with tyres and throwing stones at police officers who were on patrol, hence inconveniencing other users.

The other 24 were charged with breaching of peace by barricading a road at Kondele.

Out of the 46, 17 pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on a Sh10,000 bond with a similar surety or a Sh5,000 cash bond.

The magistrate, however, wondered why the accused persons were taken to Maseno, 25 kilometres away from Kisumu, yet there are two courts in Kisumu that could have handled the case.

"As a court, I do not understand why the accused were transferred to more than 25 kilometres from where there are two big courts," said Ochieng.

"One of the problems we have had with the public is illegal detention as done by the State to the detriment of the accused. The accused appear to be general wananchi who should be saved from coming all the way," he said.

The prosecutor defended the police for making the move, saying they feared their sympathisers were planning to cause chaos.

"Their sympathisers were planning to cause chaos in Kisumu. That is why we brought them to Maseno, though the nearest courts are in Kisumu and Winam," he said.

The magistrate cautioned the police against arraigning people in court without witnesses, saying that would occasion a backlog.

"The excuse of lack of witnesses has caused a backlog of cases in courts. We have to be very careful when filing criminal cases. I have also noted that there is no affidavit presented in court," he lamented.

Twenty-nine of the accused pleaded guilty to the offence and were released on a Sh5,000 fine or in default three months' imprisonment.