•The accused failed to appear for the hearing of the case last Wednesday due to a national matter
•The matter will be heard on June 23.
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
A Kyuso court in Kitui has issued a warrant of arrest for a National Security Intelligence Service officer in Murang’a for jumping bail in a criminal case he is accused of threatening to kill.
David Kituru, the Murang’a NSIS coordinator, was expected to appear before principal magistrate Mercy Nasimiyu on Wednesday for hearing of his case but did not show up prompting the magistrate to issue the arrest warrant.
Kituru is charged with assault, causing bodily harm, threatening to kill and unlawful use of a firearm by a public officer.
He is out on Sh50,000 bond pending full hearing and conclusion of the case.
When he initially appeared in court he was released on Sh50, 000 bond after denying the charges against him.
He was charged that on November 21 last year at around 5pm at Kaliwa village in Mutanda location, Mumoni subcounty in Kitui, he assaulted Sarah Mwikali Ngui by hitting her with a stone on the upper right side of the eye where she sustained an injury.
The other count states that on the same day, time and place, he threatened to kill his victim with a pistol while. The third count says he threatened to harm Sarah Mwikali with the pistol by pointing it at her while assaulting her.
When the case came up for hearing, Kituru’s lawyer Otieno Arum told the court that his client could not show up in court because he was attending to a matter of national importance.
The lawyer urged the court to understand and accommodate the reason for the accused absence and give a new hearing date.
He also said although his client had been maliciously charged, he was ready to attend court in future.
Responding, lawyer Simon Mburu who was holding brief for the complainant said the accused was not above the law and should have appeared in court like any other accused person.
Nasimiyu said the accused should not expect to be treated differently from any other accused persons.
She pointed out that she found him in breach of the Sh50,000 bond issued to him and consequently issued a warrant of arrest.
She ordered that the matter be heard on June 23.
The magistrate, however, pointed that should the accused lawyer present him in court before the set date, to explain to the court why he skipped the Wednesday hearing he may survive the cancellation of his bond.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris