Extortion case against blogger Cyprian Nyakundi collapses
Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi during a past court appearance.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has terminated a Sh17.6 million extortion case against blogger Cyprian Nyakundi.
This is after the High Court declared his trial unconstitutional.
Mr Haji acted barely a week after lawyer Dudley Ochiel complained to the court that the rights his clients were being violated through their continued court attendance yet the High Court had declared their trial a nullity.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Ms Zainab Abdul discharged the accused unconditionally.
In the case, Mr Nyakundi and his co-accused were charged with extorting Sh1 million from the CEO of Victoria Commercial Bank as down payment of an earlier demand of Sh17.5 million. The sum was allegedly extorted as a pre-condition for pulling down several libellous articles posted on their blog on diverse dates between September 10, 2019 and January 15, 2020.
They are alleged to have committed the offence on January 20, 2020 at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.
The police had said the money was recovered from the suspects after a successful investigations into the extortion bid, blackmail and false accusations.
Drop trial
Presenting the communication from the DPP to Ms Abdul on Monday, state prosecutor Esther Onunga said she had firm instructions to terminate the trial.
"I have received instructions not to proceed with this matter and l therefore urge the court to terminate it then discharge the accused persons," she said.
In a brief ruling, Ms Abdul freed the accused persons and ordered that they be refunded the cash bails they had deposited with the court.
The High Court had previously declared the prosecution of Mr Nyakundi unconstitutional after outlawing the law under under which they were charged.
Justice Antony Mrima, on March 11, ruled that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had entrapped the blogger by illegally obtaining the evidence against him.
The judge said the evidence was not admissible in a court of law.
Following the High Court declaration, the case against Mr Nyakundi collapsed.
