I didn’t use stairs or elevator to get to Bundi’s office, witness tells court

By ROBERT NYASATO

NYANZA; KENYA: A key witness in a petition against Kisii County Women Representative Mary Otara had a hard time convincing the court he served the legislator with suit papers.

James Moracha, a court process server, stunned the court in Kisii on Thursday with his testimony that he accessed National Assembly Clerk Justin Bundi’s office at Parliament buildings without using an elevator or stairs on April 20 while on course to serve Ms Otara with the petition.

In his evidence as led by his lawyer Cyrus Minda, Moracha held that he was escorted by two policemen to Bundi’s office and saw him without an appointment.

“I didn’t bother to check if the building was storeyed or not, but I didn’t use stairs or an elevator to the clerk’s office,” Moracha said while being questioned by lawyer Odhiambo Kanyangi, acting for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The clerk’s office can only be accessed using stairs or an elevator.

Moracha also said he was not issued with a gate pass nor did he sign the visitors’ book, which is a requirement to access Parliament Buildings.

Shedding light

The witness had been summoned by trial judge Justice Ruth Sitati on the court’s own motion to shed light on how he served Ms Otara.

The county representative wants the petition seeking to remove her from office dismissed saying she was never personally served. The suit was jointly filed by Evans Nyambaso and Mabutu Nyakeriga.

Moracha severally contradicted his sworn affidavit with evidence he presented in court, forcing the respondents’ counsel to ask him to stand by one version.

In his affidavit, he swore he met Ms Otara as she was alighting from a car at Intercontinental Hotel.

But from the witness box, Moracha held that he met her at the parking lot and didn’t see her alighting from any vehicle.

In another instance, Moracha said Bundi made a call from his cell phone during the 30 minutes he spent at his office but said he had called from a landline during cross-examination.

He never recorded the time he served Ms Otara as required of a CPS and could not justify when put to task by Sheriffsam Mwendwa for Bundi.