Kiambu High Court has set aside the acquittal of pastor James Ng'ang'a and three others in the case of a woman's death in an accident three years ago.
Kiambu
judge Christine Meoli set aside the acquittal on Tuesday
after assistant DPP
Catherine Mwaniki filed a petition on Monday.
Mwaniki had asked the court
to
reverse the order and put the suspects on defence.
Meoli said the case will
heard
afresh from August 1, a process that will begin with the hearing of witness accounts.
The ODPP also requested for the case to be heard before a "different and competent" judge.
On May 4, however, they were acquitted,
Chief Magistrate Godfrey Oduor of Limuru Law Courts saying they had no case to answer.
The DPP filed an appeal.
It was alleged that the Neno Evangelism Centre pastor had been driving Range Rover Sport KCD 060Q
on
August 26, 2015 when he
collided head-on with Nissan March KBZ 709W, leading to Mercy Njeri's death.
The accident took place
at Manguo area on Naivasha-Nakuru highway.
The pastor,
his driver Simon Kuria and police officers Patrick Baya and Christopher Nzioka faced several charges following the death that resulted from dangerous driving.
Also see:
The DPP filed a petition which noted he was wholly aggrieved and dissatisfied with Oduor's decision.
The petition stated that "the magistrate erred both in law and fact
in failing to find that the prosecution had discharged its burden of proof".
It added that "the
trial magistrate failed to properly analyse all of the prosecution's evidence thereby causing a miscarriage of justice".
The ODPP further noted that Oduor was mistaken in holding that the persecution's case was full of contradictions.
The contradictions were minor and did not affect the prosecution's case, the petition noted.
It stated further that: "The magistrate erred by holding circumstantial evidence which included forensic evidence, Safaricom data and cybercrime data adduced by the state and did not meet required legal standards."
Kuria and Nzioka had been
accused of giving false information to police while Baya, who was Tigoni police station base commander, faced a charge of neglecting his duties.
After the acquittal,
Interior CS Fred Matiang’i tasked the DCI with investigating the case afresh o reach “a suitable corrective and deterrent action against persons found culpable for its improper handling”.
He said the ministry was surprised by the ruling as “a brazen crime was committed” and added that justice must be pursued for the victims and the public.
Read more:
Other details: