In today’s court news; The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has been granted seven days to file a response in a legal challenge filed by Ebel Ochieng, a suspect in the murder of Hon. Charles Ong’ondo Were. Ochieng is contesting a ruling by the JKIA Law Courts, which declared that it holds territorial jurisdiction to hear the case.
Represented by a legal team including Danstan Omari, Shadrack Wambui, Cliff Ombeta, Sam Nyaberi, and Advocate Swiga, Ebel argued before Justice James Wakiaga that Magistrate Gichobi acted arbitrarily in asserting the JKIA Law Courts’ jurisdiction over the matter.
Advocate Shadrack Wambui told the court that the magistrate demonstrated bias in her handling of the case. He pointed out that while other suspects were detained for 20 days, Ebel was ordered to remain in custody for 23 days despite already having spent 7 days in pre-plea detention. According to Wambui, this amounted to granting the prosecution’s request for a 30-day detention by default.
Ebel’s legal team urged the High Court to intervene, alleging that the decision by the JKIA Law Courts represented a serious miscarriage of justice. They asked the court to allow a review of the ruling to correct what they described as procedural and jurisdictional errors.
In response, the ODPP defended its decision to present the suspects at the JKIA Law Courts, citing intelligence reports that indicated potential unrest at the Kibera Law Courts, where the case would typically have been heard.
Miss Gichui, representing the DPP, maintained that the JKIA Law Courts were properly constituted and had the authority to preside over the case.
The High Court has scheduled the hearing of the application challenging the JKIA Law Courts’ ruling for May 28, 2025.
