From The Anchor archives

Strong worded ruling in school

arson case sends shock waves

By Martin Masai

EVEN as a Machakos Court set free four school boys charged with burning down a dormitory at Kitie Sec­ondary School, the ruling amounts to an in­dictment of the school’s man­agement as a whole.The ruling is so harsh on the ad­min­is­tration of the school that Principals with similar cases pending in court are having sleepless nights and stupor on their part is likely to be exposed in court.

Mr Simon Kitheka

Kitie Sec­ondary school students were discharged under Section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code by the Macha­kos Se­nior Principal Mag­is­trate Mrs. Julia Oseko for lack of evi­dence to warrant them to be put on their de­fenses. The accused- Masters Stephen Muli Kithimba, Zacheus Mutua Munguti, Michael Wambua and Suleiman Kioko Keya were charged that on July 26,2008, they willfully and un­lawfully set on fire a dor­mitory at the school.

Mrs. Oseko took on Principal Simon Kitheka, dismissing him as dis­honest and that he lied to the court in an effort to have the boys convicted for other reasons and not evidence adduced.

She chided the school’s ad­min­is­tration for not having a gate or a perimeter fence, cre­ating an opportunity for any­one to walk into the school and set the dormitory ablaze.

She said the fact that the school did not have a pe­rim­eter fence and a gate exposed the school to a free for all situation where strangers could gain entrance from every cor­ner.

The court took issue with the in­ves­ti­gating officer Mr.Joseph Keru for displaying sheer incompetence, adding po­lice investigators are supposed to be factual.

The Magistrate said the in­ves­ti­gators are required to avail equal protection to both the accused and the accusers as they area both consumers of jus­tice.

He was accused of “trusting” the school administration by assuming they were telling him the truth. “He even trusted the Principal who was even not present at the time of the said incident”. The Investigating Officer, she la­mented was unable to identify the accused students in court adding “it is surprising when an in­ves­ti­gating officer fails to iden­tify people he has taken be­fore court”.

The Magistrate said it was her con­sid­ered opinion that the In­ves­ti­gating Officer did not in­ves­ti­gate the case at all and that the boys were in court purely be­cause Mr Kitheka identified them for arrest without any shred of evi­dence of their culpability.

Dismissing the case, Mrs. Oseko said there was no evidence to indicate the involvement of the four accused students either in­di­vidually or jointly. “This is a case that should not have been brought to this court”, she declared as she set the accused persons free, triggering cel­ebrations outside the court­room as the boys hugged their parents and relatives.

The Anchor will run verbatim the ruling by Magistrate Oseko in the next issue. It is a compelling read!