Tiaty MP William Kamket to sue state, seek Sh100m in damages
Tiaty MP William Kamket (left) with his lawyer Benard Kipkoech Ngetich briefing the press outside the Nakuru Law court after being acquitted of incitement charge on June 27, 2022.
After being acquitted of incitement to violence charges, Tiaty MP William Kamket is headed to the High Court to seek damages for what he claims was malicious arrest and prosecution.
The MP, through his lawyer Kipkoech Ngetich, said he will file a suit in Nakuru against the state seeking Sh100 million in compensation.
Mr Ngetich said his client is a distinguished Member of Parliament who was harassed, embarrassed and subjected to public ridicule when he was linked to clashes that rocked the Ol Moran area of Laikipia County.
He said the police used the judicial system to punish his client through fabricated charges that had no evidence.
He explained that the court’s decision to acquit Mr Kamket illustrated that he was innocent and that police were using him as a scapegoat for their inefficiencies in dealing with violence in the Kerio Valley.
“My client has been acquitted under section 210 of the criminal procedure code, which means there was no case against him,” Mr Ngetich.
“We are going to file a case seeking Sh100 million in damages and compensation for the malicious prosecution from the state to serve as a lesson for their actions.”
Mr Kamket was arrested at his home in Baringo County on September 8 before being transferred to Nakuru County. He was booked at Kaptembwo Police Station where he spent the night.
When he was produced in court the following day, the police sought to detain Mr Kamket for two weeks, claiming he was suspected of involvement in planning land invasions and inciting illegal herders to attack communities in Ol Moran.
State counsel Alloys Kemo said at the time that Mr Kamket had attended a meeting with morans where he allegedly planned the attacks that left at least eight people dead, scores injured and hundreds displaced from their homes.
But Mr Kamket was charged with uttering inflammatory statements on September 10.
Uttered words
The charge sheet claimed that Mr Kamket had at a meeting in Amaya, Tiaty constituency, Baringo County, on July 16, 2021 uttered words aimed at perpetrating hatred between different communities in Ol Moran.
He denied the charges and was released on a Sh500,000 bond.
However, the trial did not kick off, after prosecutors claimed they were not ready.
For a record five times in nine months, the court granted prosecutors adjournments in order to give them time to produce witnesses.
But after squandering their last chance granted by the court, they applied to withdraw the case on June 21 under Section 87 (a) of the criminal procedure code, amid protest from Mr Kamket lawyers.
State counsel Maureen Wambui told the court that she could not proceed with the hearing because crucial witnesses could not be found.
Chief Magistrate Ednah Nyaloti, however, declined to dismiss the case under the section and concurred with defense lawyer Ngetich that dismissal under Section 202 was applicable.
Because prosecutors had “failed to call any witnesses or adduce any evidence, the case against the accused is dismissed for want of prosecution and the accused is acquitted under Section 210 of the criminal procedure code,” Ms Nyaloti ruled.
Mr Ngetich welcomed the ruling, saying it was a major win for the rule of law.
