Moses Wetang’ula joins Khalwale and guard in distraction case

Senator Boni Khalwale (left) share a word with Advocate Shifuoka in court during mentioning of his case in a Kakamega court. He was accompanied by his Bungoma counterpart Senator Mosses Wetang'ula .PHOTO: CHRISPEN SECHERE.

KAKAMEGA: CORD co-principal Moses Wetang’ula has just made 15, the number of advocates appearing for Senator Boni Khalwale and his guard Washington Mzozo to challenge constitutionality of a "rioting" charge against them.

This week Monday through a battery of twelve advocates led by Carlestous Shifwoka the two applied to stop pleading to the charge which they labeled unconstitutional, retrogressive and malicious.

The Kakamega senator had just been arrested early Monday by police who leveled on him the charges together with his guard during CORD anti-IEBC demos.

The charge, 'rioting after proclamation contrary to section 83 of the penal code,' last applied in 1952 by the colonial fathers to stop pro-independence Mau Mau riots attracts life sentence if one is pronounced guilty.

State counsel Peter Mailenyi however made a counter application which advanced that the two, even as they had a permit to hold the demo went overboard and breeched security by going on with the demos after a stop order had been proclaimed by police.

Senior principal magistrate Samuel Wahome heard the two sides advance their arguments in a packed court and offered to make a ruling Friday.

He however said that he had not made the ruling on whether Khalwale and Mzozo would plead to the charge or not,

"Unfortunately the ruling is not ready," announced Wahome to an anxious court, "I have been held up with other court matters and, largely there was no urgency in this one since the two accused are out on bond."

This was taken half-heartedly with the 15 defense counsels including Wetang’ula a senior high court advocate.

"We accept the decision by the learned magistrate even as we were eager for the ruling, we pray for another date for ruling then," they applied through their leader Shifwoka.

The state advanced that it was through with further investigating the two who were ordered to report to chief inspector Richard Cheruiyot at Kakamega police.

"They were compliant with court order that they report to Kakamega police station every 10am for two days. We are done with investigations and need no more orders on the same line," said Mailanyi.
The court ruled that it will be ready with the ruling of whether Khalwale and his guard would be charged on the (faulty) charge on the 3rd of June 2016.