Babu Owino has not been allowed to drink water for last 3 days – lawyer
By Wycliffe Nyamasege, July 20, 2023
Embakasi East Member of Parliament Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino has accused police of starving him while in custody.
Appearing at Milimani Law Courts on Thursday, July 20, 2023, the MP, through his legal team, alleged that he has not been allowed to drink water for the last three days.
“He (Babu Owino) has not taken water for the last three days He is here he can confirm,” the MP’s lawyer told the presiding magistrate.
Speaking from the dock, the MP told the court the allegations were “true”.
Asked if he tried to give his client water, the lawyer said the police could not allow the defence team “to bring in anything”.
Babu Owino was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) after landing from Mombasa on Tuesday night. He was taken to Wang’uru Police Station in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, where he spent the last two nights.
He was presented in court alongside self-declared Bunge la Mwananchi President Calvin Okoth Otieno alias Gaucho and five others.
The suspects were charged with conspiring to commit subversive activities over their alleged role in planning ongoing anti-government protests. They denied the charges.
Earlier, Babu Owino’s wife, Fridah Muthoni, accused the police of denying her access to her husband.
She claimed that she had attempted to deliver food and medicine for the MP at Wang’uru Police Station in vain.
“There was a lady that took me aside, I was begging them that all I wanted was to give my husband food and some medicine cause he was not feeling well on Monday. They refused me entry in fact they carried me out of the gate. There were many police officers present and I was able to ascertain that indeed my husband was in Wang’uru police station in Mwea,” she stated.