Babu Owino now says bail ‘too high for me’

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has moved to court seeking to have, among others, the amount of money slapped on him as cash bail lowered, saying he had already committed to footing Felix Orinda’s medical bill, and, therefore, fulfilling the bail terms, according to him, is akin to being double-billed.

Owino, through his lawyer, Dancan Okatch, further says that some of the conditions set by Milimani Chief Magistrate, Francis Andayi, as part of the bail fulfillment are “not favourable”, and are “making Owino appear guilty until proven innocent, which is contrary to the doctrine of presumption of innocence until a suspect is proven guilty”.

Owino’s application was filed at the High Court in Nairobi on Thursday, January 30.

In the application, the lawmaker is also seeking to have the Judges and Magistrates Association of Kenya admitted as interested parties, saying the issues he has raised, “affect the conduct and transparency of the Judiciary”.

Owino, in his legal quest, is also seeking to have Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji barred from speaking publicly, including on social media, about details of the MP’s attempted murder case.

Bail terms

On Monday, January 27, Babu Owino was prohibited from taking alcoholic drinks in public establishments following his release from police custody.

The court issued the order on Monday, when it released Owino on Ksh10 million cash bail, payable in three months’ time.

Nairobi Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi said that the cash bail will cater for the treatment of his victim, DJ Evolve, at the Nairobi Hospital where he is admitted in the Intensive Care Unit.

Owino was directed to post Ksh2.5 million by end of Monday, and pay the remaining Ksh7.5 million in installments across three months. The MP secured release after paying the first installment on Monday.

The Chief Magistrate said he considered the fact that the MP was catering for the treatment of the victim and the family’s pre-bail report which indicated that they could not afford to pay for DJ Evolve’s treatment.

The court found that locking the MP up would “disadvantage” his victim who is still in a critical condition.

The Embakasi East MP, whose given name is Paul Ongili, was charged with attempted murder of the DJ and behaving in a disorderly manner while armed with a pistol.