- State counsel Jamsumba said Linturi was an influential politician who was likely to interfere with witnesses if set free.
- However, the politician's lawyers claimed that he was being held in a scheme aimed at barring him from participating in the voting of the Political Parties Bill before the Senate tomorrow.
Image: FILE
Meru Senator Mithika Linturi will spend another night in police custody at Kaptembwo police station in Nakuru Town West.
This is after the prosecution led by state counsel Jamsumba Onyango sought to hold the senator for a further seven days pending investigations.
Quoting an affidavit sworn by the investigating officer, Jamsumba said Linturi was arrested on a weekend and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and DCI did not have sufficient time to process him.
He told chief magistrate Edna Nyaloti that witnesses in the matter had not been secured either.
Linturi was arrested in Eldoret on the night of Saturday, January 8 after his utterances during a public rally at Eldoret Sports Club in Uasin Gishu.
The video of what has been termed as ethnic profiling of certain communities in the region went viral prompting his arrest.
Jamsumba said Linturi was an influential politician who was likely to interfere with witnesses if set free.
"The is a case before court at the Milimani law courts where Linturi is charged with bribing a witness with Sh200,000 through cash and a written cheque," read part of the affidavit.
However, defence objected the application, saying that there were no compelling reasons to continue detaining the legislator without a holding charge.
They said the witness bribery case was still pending before court, adding that there was no proved evidence of witness interference.
Lawyer Bernerd Kipkoech said everyone was deemed innocent until proven guilty.
They accused the prosecution of taking their client in circles during the weekend and delaying to present him in court on Monday.
"Linturi was brought to court 30 minutes before close of business in a ploy to continue holding him illegally," Kipkoech said.
He added that after his arrest in Eldoret, Linturi was taken to Nakuru's Kaptembwo police station, was stopped over at Naivasha police station before being moved to Gigiri police station in Nairobi and back to Kaptembwo.
The defence lawyers claimed that Linturi was being held in a scheme aimed at barring him from participating in the voting of the Political Parties Bill before the Senate tomorrow.
Lawyer Mwangi Waiganjo claimed that the state had won in keeping Linturi away from the Senate at such a crucial time.
Nyaloti asked the prosecution to file its rebuttal through mail and set the matter for ruling at 9:30am tomorrow.
She ordered the he be held at Kaptembwo police station until tomorrow morning.
(edited by Amol Awuor)