Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei engaged in a fierce exchange with a magistrate while appearing before the Milimani Law Courts.
Senator Cherargei and Magistrate Michemi Wendy's altercation lasted for over 3 hours on Tuesday, March 29.
The Senator accused the magistrate of being biased against him in the case where he was accused of making remarks bordering hate speech.
Despite the magistrate's efforts to de-escalate the situation, Cherargei declined to honour numerous calls urging him to calm down, accusing the court of failing to listen to his arguments.
Magistrate Michemi asked the senator to respect the court and refrain from engaging her. She further noted that he was not willing to follow the rules.
Cherargei responded arguing that the magistrate was influenced politically to expedite the case against him.
“Why am I being intimidated? I thought courts are safe? They are even calling a police inspector! These are hostilities!” Cherargei lamented.
The Senator refused to proceed with the matter in court stating that his lawyer was not present. Further, Senator Cherargei noted that witnesses would not be questioned without the presence of his advocate.
He told the court that his lawyer was handling another case in a separate court.
Following the outburst in court, Magistrate Michemi directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to probe Senator Samson Cherargei over contempt of court.
In his hate speech case, NCIC probed the senator and forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with recommendations to charge senator Cherargei.
The DPP approved the recommendations and ordered the senator's prosecution. Cherargei denied the charges in his first appearance in court.
