The supreme law of Kenya and all laws governing the trial of people alleged to have committed offenses emphasise the presumption of innocence, no matter how heinous the crime.
We must jealously guard the rights of the accused person as well as the need for justice. Let the court process take its course.
We should avoid making judgements on the emotions or gravity of the crime. The suspect is going to get an opportunity to give his side of the story. The evidence of guilt must be beyond a reasonable doubt that criminal law and the Constitution have provided.
A murder a criminal case. It must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
If it were a civil trial, then the proof would be on the balance of probability. That does not apply in a criminal case at all. If you were to put it on a scale of one to 10, proof beyond reasonable doubt it means proof beyond 65 per cent, I would say.
If it were a civil trial, then the proof would be 61 per cent, which is the balance of probability in simple terms. It all depends on the judge hearing the case. The judge is the one who determines. We do not have a jury system here. In that system, jurors would determine the case, with a judge giving guidelines on the law.
It is too early to comment on the evidence here, since we are all relying on speculation. The information has not been officially released to the public and we don’t know if the prosecution will rely upon circumstantial or direct evidence.
All we have is speculation about the movement of the phones. And speculation on the movement of phones is not sufficient.
Remember this is a criminal case. We need to wait and see the charge sheet to understand the allegations. It has not yet gone to court. Once it does, we will look at the charges.
The human rights lawyer spoke to the Star