Mombasa Principal Magistrate Davies Karani has succumbed to pressure from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution and disqualified himself from hearing a case in which Feisal Mohamed (pictured) is accused of ivory trafficking.
Karani made the declaration yesterday in his ruling following a recent application in which Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Alex Muteti asked him to disqualify himself from the suit, claiming he (Karani) was not impartial.
The DPP had asked him to step aside, citing his past decision to have the ivory kingpin released on bond despite a High Court order denying the accused bail. Karani, however, denied the claim.