A criminal case where two prime suspects are charged with the attempted murder of a former Garissa Finance Executive hit a snag at a Nairobi court after the transfer of the presiding magistrate.
Mohamud Hussein Aden, a businessman, and Juliet Charity Njoki have denied attempting to kill Idris Mukhtar who is a former Garissa County Finance Executive on May 19, 2018, at his Kileleshwa residence in Nairobi.
The case which was scheduled for hearing the whole of this week before Milimani Chief magistrate Francis Andayi failed to proceed after he informed the parties that he was not in a position to continue handling the proceedings as he has been transferred to a different station.
Andayi has been transferred to Nyeri law courts to head the station and is expected to report by October 10, 2021.
“For that reason, I direct this case to be heard by the incoming magistrate court that will be taking over from me since only one witness has testified in this matter and the matter is also a complex one with 24 witnesses remaining,” Andayi said.
The directives by the court came after the prosecution through senior state counsel Catherine Mwaniki had sought directions on how to proceed with the matter following Andayi's transfer saying that they had lined up four witnesses to testify in the matter.
However, Aden has since hired lawyer Dunstan Omari to represent him in the matter together with lawyer Kirathe Wandugi.
In the case, Aden and Njoki are also charged with conspiracy to kill lawyer Charles Kanjama, who represents the family of Mukhtar, an offence they allegedly committed between July 1 and September 27, 2018, in Nairobi, according to court records.
The prosecution alleges that the two accused persons jointly with others not before court attempted to kill Mukhtar by shooting at him at the White Star Restaurant on Kandara Road in Kileleshwa, Nairobi. Muktar is still in a coma to date, the court was told.
The former minister was immediately admitted to the intensive care unit at a Nairobi hospital before he was transferred to India for further treatment, where reportedly he is still in a coma.
A man alleged to be the shooter died at Parklands Police Station cells in mysterious circumstances while he was being held for interrogation.
It was said that David Mwai, 27, committed suicide after recording a confession implicating the Governor of Garissa Ali Korane to detectives.
During investigations, police arrested several people among them the Garissa Governor Ali Korane and his brother after they were mentioned by witnesses as having hired the hit squad.
The governor, his brother and others were released, a move which the victim’s family vehemently opposed, saying they had been implicated in the plot to kill their son since after he fell out with the governor and questioned his (governor’s) education status.
The case will be mentioned on October 25, 2021, before the new trial magistrate for fixing hearing dates and further directions.
