Forgive me, Brian Bera to Uhuru

By Lenox Sengre.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student, Brian Bera, who attempted forceful entry to State House on June 11 has pleaded with President Uhuru Kenyatta to forgive him.

Brian Bera, who was arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts on Wednesday, July 3, had previously told one of his schoolmates that he wanted to “harm” the Head of State because he [President Kenyatta] has “done nothing” to ensure Bera’s “grabbed” ancestral land is returned to his family.

“I am pleading with President Kenyatta to forgive me. I have suffered a lot while in detention,” Bera told Milimani Principal Magistrate Francis Andayi on Wednesday.

The suspect’s father, David Bera, requested the court to free his son on medical grounds, saying Brian often experiences episodes of depression.

“He [Brian Bera] once walked from Kitale [in Trans Nzoia County] to Athi River [in Machakos County],” said the suspect’s father.

Responding to his dad’s statement, Brian Bera said: “The reason why I walked from Kitale to Athi River is that I wanted to become a fisherman in Mombasa, and I was in the process of that journey, when they intercepted me and took me to JKUAT. Their move was akin to meting out punishment on me.”

Magistrate Andayi immediately ordered that Brian be taken to Mathari Mental Hospital for assessment before he is charged.

The suspect, who will be taken back to court on Thursday, July 4 for the mention of his case, will be remanded at the Kilimani Police Station.

Brian Bera, a Fifth Year mechanical engineering student, was on the night of June 11 shot while scaling State House-Nairobi fence. The intruder was wielding a kitchen knife during the incident.

Brian Bera was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on June 12, where he was admitted until his arraignment Wednesday.

Last week, a section of the Kenyan media reported that Brian had disappeared from the KNH, allegations that Kilimani OCPD, Michael Muchiri, rubbished as “false” and “reckless”.

Principal Magistrate Francis Andayi ordered that Brian Bera be, henceforth, treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.