Drama as Kaguchia disappears from court only to reappear under police escort

Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia (center) flanked by Nyandarua Senator John Methu (left) and Kajiado North MP Onesmus Ngogoyo (right) leaving Milimani Law Courts where he had been charged with accusations of defamatory remarks during a political rally. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

It was a day of drama as Mukurweini MP John Kaguchia was presented in court yesterday over alleged offensive and inciting remarks made during a political rally in Kieni, Nyeri County.

With two court orders issued the previous day and another Tuesday morning reinforcing the defence lawyers' position against their client's continued detention ahead of plea taking and what they described as trumped-up charges, the courthouse was engulfed in hours of confusion, legal battles and a dramatic disappearance that temporarily brought proceedings to a halt.

What was expected to be a routine arraignment before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Teresia Nyangena on Tuesday instead turned into a constitutional battle, an unprecedented courtroom standoff and a frantic hunt for an accused person who walked out of court before being formally released.

By the end of the day, the magistrate would reprimand both the MP and his lawyers, impose hefty bail terms and condemn the conduct that saw Kaguchia whisked away from court without official permission breaching the security protocols.

The drama began when the MP was brought before court at around 12 pm to answer a charge of offensive conduct under Section 94(1) of the Penal Code arising from remarks allegedly made during a political rally in Kieni, Nyeri County.

However, despite the charge being read to him by the court clerk, Kaguchia did not take plea after his lawyers launched a barrage of preliminary objections challenging the legality of the charge, the circumstances of his arrest and the court lacked territorial jurisdiction and that the State had violated multiple court orders issued by the High Court.

The packed courtroom was filled with supporters, lawyers and political allies including Nyandarua Senator John Methu and Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina, who followed the proceedings from the public gallery.

A battery of lawyers including advocates Kiragu Wathuta, Ndegwa Njiru and Lawrence Karanja argued that the charge sheet violated Article 50(2) of the Constitution because it failed to disclose the offence with sufficient detail for the accused to answer it.

The defence insisted that the prosecution could not proceed after police allegedly ignored orders from both the Kiambu High Court and the Milimani High Court directing that Kaguchia be released and granted access to his advocates.

Wathuta told the court that the MP was not before the magistrate because he had committed any crime but because of his political views.

"The accused person is not before this court because of any crime he committed. He is here to demonstrate to the country that it is now a crime to oppose the government," Wathuta submitted.

The lawyers told the court that Kaguchia had spent two nights in the cold despite facing what they described as a misdemeanour offence of offensive conduct carrying a maximum penalty of six months imprisonment or a fine of Sh5,000.

The lawyers narrated how Kaguchia allegedly spent the night at Royal Media Services after being warned that hooded individuals in dozens of 30 Subaru vehicles were looking for him following an appearance on Inooro FM's Kiririmbi programme on the night of August 2 before he was arrested the following morning by officers who, according to the defence, had no summons or warrant of arrest.

The defence further accused police of denying lawyers access to their client at DCI headquarters on Monday.

They further accused the DCI, OCS Kamukunji and the Inspector General of Police of ignoring two High Court orders that had granted him police bail of Sh 100,000 and later a personal bond of Sh500,000.

Lawyer Njiru also opposed plea taking, arguing that the MP had not been accorded adequate legal advice as required under Article 49 of the Constitution.

He further challenged the jurisdiction of the Milimani court, saying the alleged offence was committed in Kieni and ought to be tried in Nyeri.

Lawyer Lawrence Karanja argued that the charge itself did not disclose who had allegedly been threatened, abused or insulted.

He also questioned the accuracy of the translated charge sheet, telling the court he understood Kikuyu and had noticed discrepancies between the original alleged utterances and the English translation.

Karanja argued that the translation distorted the alleged remarks, particularly the reference to the word "Kasongo", and maintained that the inconsistencies prejudiced the accused's ability to understand the charge.

The defence then went a step further and sought to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions from addressing the court, arguing that the State had approached the court with unclean hands after allegedly disobeying High Court orders.

The prosecution opposed the move, insisting to the DPP he was not served and that he was not a party in one of the cited proceedings and that nothing barred plea taking.

As the arguments raged, the magistrate reserved a ruling on whether the prosecution had audience and briefly stood the matter aside to deal with other files.

That is when the day's most dramatic twist unfolded.

Before the court rose, defence lawyers sought clarification on whether Kaguchia was free following the High Court order granting him a personal bond of Sh500,000.

The magistrate, however, informed the lawyers that despite the High Court orders, Kaguchia remained in custody and had not yet been formally discharged by her court.

Immediately after the file was stood over, one of the lawyers allegedly advised Kaguchia that he had already been freed and could leave.

Moments later, at around 2:13 pm, Kaguchia walked out of the dock.

According to events witnessed in court, the MP hurried through the public gallery into the corridor where he was received by lawyers and political allies.

Instead of being escorted back to the cells, he was whisked away from the court precincts and later seen boarding a white Prado together with Nyandarua Senator John Methu before leaving the court compound.

Court orderlies who had been assigned to escort him were left stranded and confused, unaware of where the MP had gone.

For more than an hour, police officers held hurried consultations outside the courtroom as proceedings stalled.

When the matter was called out at about 3:36 pm, Magistrate Nyangena immediately asked where the accused person was.

Wathuta informed the court that Kaguchia was still within the court precincts and sought an adjournment, assuring the magistrate that the MP would appear in court the following morning.

But the magistrate was unconvinced.

Suspecting mischief, she directed both the police and the defence team to immediately produce Kaguchia before the court, reminding them that the accused had not been formally released and remained under lawful custody.

Proceedings were once again put on hold as a frantic search continued.

Nearly half an hour later, at around 3:50 pm, Kaguchia finally returned to court under tight police escort, accompanied by senior officers including the Officer Commanding Station at Milimani.

The magistrate subsequently dismissed the application seeking to bar the prosecution from addressing the court and allowed the State audience.

The defence then requested that the matter proceed and urged the court to release the legislator on reasonable bail terms.

But before issuing the bond terms, the court addressed the conduct that had unfolded earlier.

Facing an angry court, the lawyers apologised.

"We sincerely apologise. Honestly, it was not intentional. We are honestly sorry for what happened. We have brought him immediately back," lawyer Karanja apologized.

The apology, however, did little to calm the court.

Magistrate Nyangena condemned the conduct, observing that the lawyers had misled their client into believing he had already been released when no formal discharge had been made.

She also reminded the court that Kaguchia himself is an advocate and was expected to understand court procedure.

The magistrate warned against parties taking court orders into their own hands and emphasised that litigants must await formal directions from the court before acting.

She subsequently released the MP on a bond of Sh1 million or an alternative cash bail of Sh250,000.

The hefty terms, she indicated, were informed in part by the events that had unfolded in court.

The court proceedings will proceed this morning.