A prosecution witness who was to testify against Embakasi East Member of Parliament (MP) Babu Owino on Monday took an about-turn after he recanted his statement regarding the events surrounding the shooting of Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve in 2020.
George Otieno, a security officer at B Club, had to be declared a hostile witness and be cross-examined by the prosecution for providing evidence contrary to his written statement.
“I allow the prosecution’s application to declare him a hostile witness since he was a state witness,” Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi ruled.
Otieno in his testimony on Monday denied seeing Babu Owino with a gun at B Club on the day DJ Evolve was shot.
In his statement, the prosecution told the court that Otieno had indicated that the MP went to the club with his gun and his security team.
Owino then asked the security officer whether he would keep the firearm for him to which he replied that he should hand it over to one of his security officers, who was a police officer.
Otieno however denied ever writing the said statement but acknowledged that the signature was his.
“I did not see the firearm that day…the signature is mine but I did not write that statement,” he said.
In January 2020, Babu was charged with attempted murder and misuse of firearm after he shot the DJ in the neck at B Club in Kilimani, Nairobi on January 17.
The murder charges were withdrawn after he reached a settlement with DJ Evolve and his family.
The court however upheld the prosecution's objection that the count on misuse of a firearm could not be withdrawn as it was against the republic.
In his testimony yesterday, Otieno told the court that DJ Evolve was at the DJ Booth on the fateful day.
"When he heard there was an offer on drinks, he went to where Babu Owino was…He went there around 5.30 in the morning and stayed until 6.30,” Otieno told the court.
The prosecution asked him to read a part of his statement which indicated that DJ Evolve saw him hand over the firearm to Babu.
The witness however insisted that he did not see the legislature with the said gun.
He also denied ever hearing the gunshot sound contrary to his statement which indicated that he heard the gunshot sounds and saw DJ Evolve fall down.
Lawyer Duncan Okatch, Babu's lawyer in the criminal case asked him whether he was the one who wrote the statement and he said he did not.
“The statement was written by one of the officers from DCI Kilimani, they forced me to write it… I had requested one of the cops to give me some time at least one day to prepare myself, but they declined,” he told the court.
According to the witness, he was not around when DJ Evolve fell to the ground and that he came and found him on the floor after a radio call.
The case will proceed in October.
