Hate speech charges against Muthama dismissed
A court on July 28, 2016 dismissed hate speech charges against Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, saying his case was an abuse of the legal process. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The court said it was wrong to subject the senator to a trial for an offence committed last year while his co-accused are being charged with utterances made this year.
A court dismissed hate speech charges against Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama on Thursday, saying the case is an abuse of the court process.
Senator Muthama had been arrested and detained alongside five other lawmakers before being charged with the offense of incitement to violence.
Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo said it was wrong to subject the senator to a trial for an offence committed last year while his co-accused are being charged with utterances made this year.
The Machakos senator was charged alongside his Cord colleagues Junet Mohamed (Suna East) and Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba), and Jubilee lawmakers Moses Kuria (Gatundu South), Ferdinand Waititu (Kabete) and Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati).
(Editing by Joel Muinde)
