Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has had his wish granted in a court ruling on Tuesday, March 3.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the legislator revealed that his cash bail had been halved from Ksh10 million to Ksh5 million.
High Court Judge Luka Kimaru, also ruled that Owino should not be forced to pay Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve's hospital bill, noting that it should be considered a moral obligation.
The judge stated that the order to pay DJ Evolve's hospital bill could only be issued by a civil court not a criminal court.
"The accused person should continue paying the hospital bill as a moral duty to him, not as a court order. If he fails to pay is up to him and his God," Justice Kimaru stated.
The legislator was also slapped with a Ksh10 million bond. "It is a little too much, but I will continue paying the bills," Babu told Kenyans.co.ke noting that the figure was a steep one.
He had made Ksh 4.4 million in payments and will be remanded until he makes the remaining Ksh 600,000.
On January 27, he had applied to have the cash bail reduced and instead be given an alternative bond.
Babu, who had been accused of shooting DJ Evolve, had been released on January 20 with a directive from Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi to pay the Ksh 10 million bail, in four instalments of Ksh 2.5 million each.
In an application he had filed to the court, Babu stated that he was struggling meeting the remainder of the instalments.
“I have partially complied with the terms as set out and thus I am out on bail but I know that I thus would also appreciate an and above a reduction of the amounts stated being Ksh.10,000,000 million,” Babu's application read in part.
He had argued that the court had reached the conclusion that since he was involved in a court case, it was reason enough to deny him bail/ bond.
“Despite the fact that I had voluntarily started assisting the victim in meeting the medical expenses and had pledged to voluntarily continue doing so, at no point was it to depict an admission of guilt as the Court seems to have depicted and thus the same should not be used to render high or punitive bail terms,” Babu had argued.
He had asked the court revisit the case in line with the constitutional rights of an accused person and in the interest of the right to a fair hearing and the rule of law.
