A Nairobi High Court has ruled that victim's lawyers cannot be allowed to address the court or cross examine the witnesses in a murder trial.
In the case, lawyers representing the family of slain KRA lawyer Jared Ratemo had made an application before court to be allowed to address the court by making opening statements.
However, Justice Justus Bwonong’a declined to allow them to address the court, saying in his view, they cannot address the court as it doesn’t directly affect their clients.
He further ruled that lawyer Danstan Omari and Anita Masaki, who represent the victims, cannot also cross-examine the witnesses, saying their application therefore fails.
The judge has taken a different stance from his other colleagues who have been allowing the victims represented to address court.
In the Willie Kimani murder trial, Justice Jessie Lessit allowed lawyers for Law Society of Kenya and the family who are victims, to address the court and basically have a say in the proceedings.
Another case is the Embu brothers case before Justice Daniel Ogembo where the lawyers for victims have also been allowed to address the court.
Ratemo’s case has been in court since 2018 when Dr David Mwangi Muchiri was charged with killing the KRA lawyer and dumping his body on Mombasa road.
It is alleged that on July 11, 2017, at Fig Tree medical centre in Ngara, he killed Ratemo.
Ratemo was allegedly abducted and went missing before his body was discovered dumped on Mombasa road. Police believe Muchiri committed the offence.
The 46-year-old doctor is accused of killing the lawyer at his clinic where he was undergoing treatment.
According to police records, a postmortem on the lawyer's body revealed he had been tortured, injected with an unknown substance and strangled to death.
It is alleged that he further suffered several injuries to his head, face and other parts of the body, inflicted by a blunt object.
The autopsy report also indicated the lawyer's genitals were crushed.
LSK linked the murder to a tax evasion investigation.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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