MP Aisha Jumwa seeks to move murder trial to lower court

Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa now wants to be prosecuted over the killing of an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) supporter in a Magistrate Court.

In a fresh attempt to stop her prosecution in the High Court, Ms Jumwa has filed a formal request to transfer the trial to the lower court. The legislator is accused of killing ODM supporter Jola Ngumbao. She is facing this charge jointly with her aide Geoffrey Otieno Okuto.

Court documents show that Ms Jumwa wants to ensure that all channels of appeal are made available to her if she is convicted.

“With the matter coming before the High Court in its original jurisdiction, the applicant is highly apprehensive that the only available avenues of appeal shall be the Court of Appeal with slim possibilities of the matter proceeding for appeal in the Supreme Court due to the court’s special jurisdictions,” she said through her advocate Danstan Omari.

The lawmaker argues that there are no legal or statutory requirements that murder cases start at the High Court, adding that the practice is a consequence of a historical mistake.

Mr Omari said that the legislator’s right to a fair trial would be threatened if the case is allowed to proceed in the High Court.

In a supporting affidavit, Ms Jumwa said she wants the case to start in the Magistrate Court, noting that she will be greatly prejudiced if the trial starts in the High court.

The outspoken Malindi MP has pleaded with the court to deal with the application first before the matter could proceed.

“The hearing of this matter should, therefore, commence before the magistrate’s court to enable me to exploit three levels of appeal in the unlikely event that the magistrate court convicts me of the offense of murder,” she said.

The MP has also questioned why the matter was registered in Mombasa for trial when the incident took place in Kilifi County, where there are competent courts.

“The applicant prays that this court be pleased to transfer and or refer this murder trial before the Magistrate Court in Malindi for hearing and determination in the first instance as the court with the appropriate territorial jurisdictions,” Mr Omari said.

The chief prosecutor is required to file a response to the petition within a week. But the state views this application as a way of delaying the hearing of the case for political reasons.

The lawmaker was accompanied to the court by her other lawyer Jared Magolo, who reiterated that the MP had been taken ill last month and could not appear for the start of her trial.

With the trial now pushed to April, Ms Jumwa will have a difficult time attending court hearings, where she is facing two criminal cases, and campaigning for the Kilifi governor’s seat.

Ms Jumwa and Mr Okutwa’s trial was postponed late last month after she was reportedly taken ill.

The case had been slated for hearing for four consecutive days. It has been adjourned four times.

The two are charged that on October 15, 2019, during campaigns for the Ganda ward by-election, they killed Mr Ngumbao. They have denied committing the offense.

The court heard that Mr Ngumbao, who was an uncle of Ganda ward MCA Reuben Katana, was shot dead when Ms Jumwa, Mr Okuto, and their supporters allegedly stormed the home of Mr Katana and caused chaos.

Prosecutors have lined up 32 witnesses.

Ms Jumwa also faces charges of economic crimes in relation to the embezzlement of CDF money.

She is accused of conspiring to defraud the Malindi CDF of Sh19 million. She also faces charges of conflict of interest, money laundering, and acquisition of proceeds of crime. 

She is out on a Sh5 million bond on this charge.

This case is pending in a Mombasa court.

The murder trial was pushed to April 15.

[email protected]