Nyando MP Fred Outa charged with inciting students freed on bond

Nyando MP Fred Outa in the dock at the Kisumu Law Courts yesterday, where he was charged with inciting Ahero Girls' Secondary School students. He was released on a cash bail of Sh100,000. (PHOTO: COLLINS ODUOR/ STANDARD)

Nyando MP Fred Outa was yesterday released on a cash bail of Sh100,000 by a Kisumu court.

Mr Outa spent Tuesday night in police cells for allegedly inciting students of Ahero Girls Secondary School to violence.

When he was arraigned in court on Tuesday, the MP was denied bail after the prosecution applied to have him detained for three days.

The prosecution had sought his detention to complete investigations into his involvement in the fracas, an application whose ruling was given yesterday.

Yesterday, while delivering the ruling, Senior Principal Magistrate Julius Ngar Ngar said he did not find any reason to deny Outa bail.

No reason

“I have considered all the issues raised by both the prosecution and the defence and I do not find any reason to deny the accused bail,” said Ngar Ngar.

The MP was given an option to raise a bond of Sh300,000 and a surety of a similar amount or pay a cash bail of Sh100,000.

The MP later recounted his ordeal 16-hour ordeal at the Kisumu Central Police cells.

He was booked in the cell at 4pm on Tuesday and had to stay there until 8am yesterday, when he left to appear in court.

The lawyers representing the legislator asked the court to allow the accused to present his witnesses in an assault case that he had earlier reported at Ahero Police Station before his arrest.

“We are requesting the court to allow the accused to present all his witnesses and statements that he recorded at Ahero,” said Geoffrey Yogo, his lawyer.

The State prosecutor, however, challenged the request by the defence, saying the case was already being handled at Ahero.

The lawyers then asked the court to stop the Director of Criminal Investigation from handling the case at Ahero.

They argued that he was the suspect in a case where the legislator had allegedly been assaulted and Sh150,000 stolen from him at Ahero Girls Secondary School.

The presiding magistrate ordered the station’s OCS to carry out investigations into the case.

Outa had been charged with inciting students of Ahero Girls Secondary School to violence after their principal, Sarah Odipo, was interdicted.

The school was closed indefinitely after a confrontation between students and anti-riot police where school property was destroyed.

The case will be heard on December 8 and mentioned on October 24.

On his stay in police cells, the MP said his fellow remandees offered to sleep in turns so that some could keep watch over him.

Outa has, however, pledged to introduce ‘minimum reforms’ to make police cells better places. He wants to construct a shower point and concrete seats in the cell where he spent the night so as to improve on cleanliness and comfort.

According to the MP, the remandees are forced to sit on the floor, which is not comfortable, and many of them complained of backache as they have no way of resting their backs.