A Busia court has dismissed a case in which Foreign Affairs CAS Ababu Namwamba sued Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala for endangering his life by inciting youth to stone a helicopter he was travelling.
Ababu, in the case, claimed the incident endangered his life and those he was traveling with.
But Busia chief magistrate Lucy Ambasi on Friday said the case was characterised with inconsistencies by the complainants and that the discrepancies could not hold the matter to its conclusion.
Ambasi added that the complainants were not able to avail the helicopter pilot before court to give his account of developments during the fracas.
She said the accusers did not produce a pilot report in relation to the incident.
In the 2018 incident in Budalang’i, Ababu accused the MP and five others of stoning a helicopter he had landed in at the Sigiri area to inspect development projects along side and his Transport counterpart Chris Obure.
The accusations led to the arrest of Wanjala on April 14, 2018 and his arraigning before then Busia chief magistrate Martha Nanzushi.
The MP's co-accused faced an additional count of assaulting and injuring a police officer during the fracas. They were released on a Sh700,000 bond or Sh400,000 bail.
Wanjala maintained that the CAS had no mandate to inspect development projects in the constituency without his knowledge.
He argued that the CAS should have consulted him before flying to Budalang’i to monitor the progress of construction works at Sigiri Bridge.
Wanjala told journalists the dismissal of Ababu's matter showed the accusers banked on lies to present the case against him and his co-accused.
“The truth will always set people free and indeed we have been set free. Whoever was cheating and whoever brought lies to the court is now ashamed for whatever he brought in here,” Wanjala said outside the Busia Law Courts.
“We are respected people and we cannot do the allegations they were alleging here. Therefore, I would like to tell those people, who like bringing confusion, create chaos and accuse others that they must stop.”
He said Ababu should wait until 2022 to return to the constituency and face him if he is still interested in the MP seat.
“Budalang’i is for all of us and anybody who loses election should go relax, wait for five years and come back. "
"The only person who can inspect projects in Budalang’i is a sitting MP and possibly other leaders who are charged with those responsibilities and not just any other person,” the MP said.
