Bishop Wanjiru released on bond

Nairobi Jubilee gubernatorial aspirant Bishop Margaret Wanjiru in the dock in a Nairobi court on April 27, 2017. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Her son, Starehe MP Stephen Kariuki was present in court Friday.
  • Bishop Wanjiru had moved to the High Court to challenge the decision to deny her bond.

Jubilee's Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Bishop Margaret Wanjiru will not spend the weekend and Labour Day in police custody after she was released on bond Friday.

High Court judge Ngenye Macharia agreed to have her bond terms reduced to Sh 100,000 from Sh 500,000.

“The cash bail granted is hereby reduced, an order directing the detention of Bishop Wanjiru is hereby set aside and she is to be set free from custody upon payment of a cash bail of Sh 100, 000,” ruled Lady Justice Macharia.

Her son, Mathare MP Stephen Kariuki was present in court Friday.

Through lawyer Kennedy Ochieng, Bishop Wanjiru had moved to the High Court to challenge the decision to deny her bond as well as have her detained for five days.

In a letter to the presiding judge of the High Court's Criminal division, Mr Ochieng had protested against the fact that prosecution did not seek for more time to have her detained so as to record witness statements yet Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi ordered that she remains in custody.

The magistrate had ruled that she spends five days in custody, pays a Sh 500,000 bond and presents two sureties of the same amount on May 2 before she secures her freedom.

But the lawyer faulted the magistrate for issuing directions for his client’s incarceration terming it as a gross violation to her rights as an accused person.

He termed the verdict as a dangerous precedent of the court granting orders that have not been sought for and allowing detention without trial to complete investigations in a case where one is charged with offences such as the ones Bishop Wanjiru was charged with.

On Thursday, she was charged with causing malicious damage to property and creating disturbance. She denied the charges.

She was accused of will-fully and unlawfully destroying four ballot boxes as well as assorted papers valued at Sh30,000 belonging to Jubilee Party at a polling station on April 26.

She was also accused of storming into City Park market in Westlands, Nairobi, where forcefully disrupted the voting process for the Jubilee party nominations while in the company of a group of 50 rowdy as well as noisy people, who allegedly scared off polling clerks.