- The journalist, according to the witness, walked into the hospital on the night of September 3, 2018 accompanied by police officers.
- The proceedings also saw an officer stationed at Kendu Bay take to the stand.
Image: ENOS TECHE
A medic was yesterday hard-pressed to explain whether injuries sustained by a journalist in the Sharon Otieno case were consistent with someone who jumped out of a moving vehicle.
The Rongo University student was killed in 2018.
Harun Diero, a clinical officer working at Kendu Subcounty Hospital, told trial judge Cecilia Githua that he treated the journalist after suffering injuries on his knees and the palm of his hands.
The journalist has been under witness protection. He has already given his testimony in the case.
The journalist, according to the witness, walked into the hospital on the night of September 3, 2018. He was brought in by the then Kendu Bay OCS George Kabii (now deceased) and five other police officers.
“The patient told me he had been abducted by persons well known to him from Homa Bay," Diero said.
"He told me he had a female companion and he managed to jump out of a moving vehicle. I proceeded to examine him and instituted treatment."
The court was told the journalist sustained bruises on the palms of his hands and bruises on knee joints. His trouser was torn around the knee area, but had no injury on his elbows.
The clinical officer then proceeded to record the information on a clinical booklet and gave the patient a tetanus injection. He also cleaned his wounds.
Diero further told the court that a blunt object caused the injury and that the bruises were bleeding.
“In your opinion, for one jumping out of a moving vehicle at a speed of 80 to 100 km/h, what injuries would you expect if that person were to survive?” defense lawyer Rogers Sagana asked.
“I’m not a forensic expert,” Diero said.
“Can you confirm injuries sustained by XYZ are synonymous with someone jumping out of a moving vehicle?”
“As I said, I relied on the patient's history.”
He further told the court that he does not know whether the journalist sought further treatment.
“I believe I gave the patient the best health care he could get in the facility. There was no need for him to seek further treatment," Diero said.
The proceedings also saw a police officer, Oletuwai Birgen, stationed at Kendu Bay take to the stand. He was one of the officers who was with the late OCS the night the journalist was abducted.
“On the night of September 3, I received a call from the late OCS. He informed me and other officers there was someone who had been abducted but escaped and was at Kadel police post. We proceeded to Kadel [which] took us 20 minutes,” the officer said.
He told the court that when they arrived, they took the journalist to the hospital and was treated by Diero. A few minutes later, he was discharged and taken to the report office at Kendu Bay station where he made the abduction report.
Oletuwai told the court he does not know the details of the abduction as that was something only privy to the OCS.
The defence lawyer proceeded to read aloud a statement recorded by the late OCS.
The statement said “on the material day, the journalist was covering a personal story. He was to meet Oyamo together with Sharon. When they met, they were lured into a vehicle which had three men."
"Sharon was being strangled in the back seat and the journalist managed to escape by jumping from the moving vehicle…” the statement continued.
The lawyer asked Oletuwai whether he is aware of such details to which he said he did "not know what they discussed that night. To date, I do not have any details regarding the abduction.”
Oletuwai was the prosecution's twelfth witness in the case. Matter proceeds on March 7.
(edited by Amol Awuor)