High Court bars police from re-arresting Babu Owino

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino in court. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

High Court Judge Diana Mochache has granted Embakasi East MP Babu Owino orders barring police from re-arresting him.

Mochache also ordered the Embakasi MP to deposit Sh100,000 anticipatory bail.

Owino had sued the state seeking to quash charges preferred against him.

He sued the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Attorney General Justin Muturi.

He claimed that officers from DCI police were planning to re-arrest him, shortly after he was granted bail by Magistrate Lucas Onyina.

"As we speak DCI officers from headquarters and Nairobi Area are all here in court waiting to re-arrest me," he says in a video shot from the Milimani Law Courts holding cells.

"If I leave the police cells within Milimani Law Courts they are planning to re-arrest me... anytime from now they are planning to re-arrest me but we shall still fight on. We know your plans but just proceed with them," he says in the video.

Owino and five others on Friday, July 21, were charged at the Milimani Law Courts where Onyina granted them a Sh100,000 bail or Sh200,000 bond after finding that the State did not produce sufficient evidence against them.

The five are Calvince Otieno alias Gaucho, Eric Theuri, Tom Odongo, Michael Otieno, Pascal Ouma, Kelvin Wambo, and Willy Owino.

They were taken to Court on Thursday evening and the Magistrate deferred the ruling to Friday morning.

In his directions, he ordered that the legislator be taken to the hospital to get medical attention after his lawyers Ndegwa Njiru and Dancun Okatch claimed that during his 72-hour detention, he had been denied food and medical attention.

Owino was arrested on Tuesday evening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport after landing from Mombasa.

He was then driven to the Wang'uru Police Station in Embu County where he was detained until he was moved to the Nairobi Area Police Station on Thursday.