City Laywer Danstan Omari on Tuesday questioned the much-publicized confession of Police Constable James Mukhwana which implicated DIG Eliud Lagat and Central police Station OCS Samson Talaam in the murder of Albert Ojwang.
Speaking at Spice FM breakfast show, Omari said the only way the statement by Mukhwana can be said to be credible was through scrutiny in court by cross-examination.
The advocate cautioned the country to be careful in taking he statements as it is until its been put into cross-examination and once it is tested in court, that is when the veracity of the statement will be made.
“The legal weight of any statement is only established when tested against evidence, corroboration, and cross-examination,” Omari said.
Further adding that the quality of the statement will also improve when it is corroborated by others who were present at the scene and if others are of a different view than Mukhwana, then that statement becomes just a statement.
“IPOA will record a thousand statements. Others will record statements based on what they are instructed to do. Others will record statements based on what they saw. Others will record statements based on what they hear. The quality of the statement and evidence comes in when it is put to the test,” he said.
Omari also maintained his position that the case should first go to an inquest before anyone is charged to avoid cover ups and basically unearth the whole truth.
He said Sections 385 and 386 of Kenya’s Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 75), underlined legal procedures that must be followed whenever a suspect dies in police custody which is automatically an inquest.
He said the benefits of an inquest is everyone is called to testify and in Ojwang’s case the first witness will be the DIG Lagat who made the complaint then everyone else including members of the public with information can also have a chance to testify.
Upon conclusion of the inquest, Omari says if the court finds anyone culpable, the file is submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who then evaluates whether the evidence meets the legal threshold to charge the suspects.
