The owners of Omnicare Ltd better known as body by design will spend 12 more days remand prison as they await a pre-bail report to be prepared before the court can determine if they will be released on bond or not.
Kibera Senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu had set the bail ruling for today afternoon but he changed his mind and instead directed for a pre-bail report to be filed in court before he makes a determination.
Lilian Wanjiru, George Wakaria Njoroge and the surgeon Robert Mutula were charged with manslaughter for the death of Lucy Ng’ang’a who died while undergoing liposuction at their clinic.
They will now remain in custody until April 15, 2025 when the matter will be mentioned for the pre-bail report to be availed in court because the magistrate says he needs a probation report to enable him arrive at a reasonable decision.
Temu said that bond or bail release is a constitutional right that can only be suspended and not taken away only when the state demonstrates compelling reasons to suspend the right.
“The justice system is yet to find a proper footing on the application of compelling reasons ground,” he said.
The court said it is duty bound to protect the constitutional rights on bail while taking into consideration of the victim impact to enable the process be seen to be fair and impartial.
It was the Court’s findings that both the prosecution and the defence were far apart which did not help the court to arrive at a fair decision for the interest of Justice.
Magistrate Temu said he was alive to the fact that a life was lost which guided his decision to enable the victims who are the husband and children of the deceased to come to terms that the case is a fair judicial process that must be allowed to flow naturally without reading a mischief.
“I therefore order the probation officer to prepare a prebail report which will accommodate both the victims side and the suspects side to guide the court on the way forward before bond terms are granted.” Concluded the magistrate.
