NAIROBI, Kenya- Eight young men arrested following the disruption of a church service attended by Siaya Governor James Orengo and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna have been released unconditionally after a court declined a prosecution bid to continue holding them.
Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo, who represented the suspects, said the group appeared in court on Monday, two weeks after their arrest over the incident.
According to Odhiambo, investigations into the matter had already been concluded and prosecutors had no evidence to support the charges initially brought against the eight.
She accused the prosecution of attempting to prolong the suspects’ detention by seeking an additional day in custody to enable the opening of fresh charges.
“We attended Court today when eight young men were arraigned following their arrest two weeks ago after the church attack on James Orengo and Edwin Sifuna. Despite investigations having been concluded and no evidence to sustain the charges against them, the Prosecution sought to have the eight detained for a further one day to allow fresh charges to be opened,” Odhiambo said.
The defence opposed the application, arguing that there was no legal basis for continued detention after investigators had failed to establish sufficient evidence.
“We opposed the application and urged the Court to close the file and release the young men unconditionally. The Court agreed with our submissions and ordered the immediate and unconditional release of all the eight young men,” she said.
Odhiambo welcomed the ruling, saying it reaffirmed the importance of the rule of law and due process within Kenya’s criminal justice system.
“We thank the Court for affirming the place of the rule of law within our criminal justice system,” she added.
The eight were arrested following an incident at a church service attended by Orengo and Sifuna that descended into chaos after a group of youths allegedly disrupted the event, prompting police intervention.
The court’s decision brings to an end the criminal proceedings against the suspects in the current case, unless investigators file fresh charges supported by new evidence.