Lawyer queries police decision to charge assault victim
A lawyer has questioned a decision by police to charge a student at a plant operators’ training college who was assaulted and seriously injured by the institution’s staff.
This is after the student John Maina, 27, was charged in a Kithimani court in Yata, Machakos county with assault and damage to property belonging to Kilimambogo Highways Building and Technology College.
Maina (pictured)denied that on May 9 at the college premises in Kithimani, Machakos county, he assaulted Laban Kemboi, an instructor at the institution, occasioning him actual bodily harm.
A second count stated that on the same date and place, he willfully damaged a shovel machine valued at Ksh345,000 belonging to the college.
However, the lawyer Patrick Gaitho told the court it was surprising that his client who was the victim of a brutal attack was now facing assault charges. “This is an attempt to defeat justice for the young man,” said. Also charged separately before Principal Magistrate Paul Wechuli were three instructors at the college; Kevin Nabali, Gentrics Shikuku and Laban Kemboi who denied assaulting the student on May 9 this year.
They all denied the charges and were released on a cash bail of Sh10,000 or Sh30,000 bond with a surety of a similar amount each.
Gaitho further informed the court that after the assault incident, Maina who incurred serious injuries in the face and legs went to report the matter at the Kithimani police station but was denied an OB number prompting him to get one from the Yatta police station.
The magistrate demanded to know whether there were any efforts to reconcile the parties, to which Gaitho answered in the affirmative but said the school administration had frustrated these efforts. The matter was fixed for hearing on July 29 with a mention on June 19.
