Senator Muthama's incitement to violence case to proceed

Former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama (pictured) has failed to block an incitement case that he is facing.

Muthama had filed an application at a magistrates court seeking to have the case struck out.

It has been running for the last five years. Yesterday, Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi dismissed the application saying the court will give the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) more time to decide whether he intends to continue prosecuting it.

"I will fix a hearing date because the DPP says he still wants time to determine whether he will continue with its prosecution," said Mr Andayi.

“The prosecutor who is in court today does not have proper instructions or directions from his boss in regard to this matter and I will, therefore, grant the last adjournment. It is more than five years now. The matter has fallen under a backlog of other cases.”

Muthama's lawyer George Khaminwa protested the decision to strike out his client's application saying it is discriminatory.

He said the delays by the prosecution means the DPP is not taking the case seriously.

Addressing Andayi, Mr Khaminwa said a magistrate should always have in mind that justice delayed is justice denied.

"A magistrate is at liberty to dismiss a case if the prosecution is not taking it seriously,” Khaminwa said. "My client has appeared in court many times and is always told that the DPP is still reviewing the file."

Charges

The charges against Muthama read that on September 23, 2015 at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, he uttered words that were meant to incite the public.

Muthama said: "From Friday next week if teachers will not have been paid, nobody will go to work and whoever goes shall be stoned."

He is out on a Sh100,000 bond. The case will be mentioned on January 29 and will be heard on March 4.