Philip Aroko withdraws application seeking to have him produced in court
Philip Aroko, a person of interest in the assassination of Kasipul Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Were, has withdrawn an application that demanded the state to produce him in court dead or alive.
Milimani High Court judge Alexander Muteti, who had ordered Aroko to be presented to court on Monday, May 12, 2025, at 10 am, allowed the withdrawal of the petition.
Through his lawyers, Danstan Omari and Samson Nyaberi, Aroko sought High Court intervention stating that their client had not been arraigned in court even after surrendering to the police.
In the application at the Milimani High Court Criminal Division, his lawyers sought to have the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, compelled to produce Aroko in any court immediately.
However, they informed the court that their client was finally presented at JKIA Law Courts on Friday, May 9, 2025, and there was no need to proceed with the application.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) lawyer Gikui Gichui told court that Aroko was booked at Kasarani Police Station on May 8, 2025, at 12:18 am, adding that he was presented to court before the lapse of 24 hours as per the constitution.
Judge Muteti closed Aroko’s file at the Milimani High Court.
On Friday, May 9, 2025, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi detained Aroko for 7 days.
In her ruling she said that Aroko presented himself to the Gigiri Police Station after the DCI issued an alert urging him to present himself to the nearest police station.
She stated that presenting himself to the DCI showed that he was ready and willing to cooperate with the investigator.
“As such, I allow the application for custodial orders, but limited to seven calendar days,” Magistrate Gichobi ruled.
In a miscellaneous application filed at the JKIA Law Courts, DCI sought to detain Aroko for 30 days.
Meanwhile, Aroko requested the court to allow the DCI to detain him for five days instead of the 30 days they were seeking, terming them as crazy.
“Your honour, 30 days is just too crazy, being a citizen who has presented himself to the police and willing to cooperate during the investigations I urge this court to intervene and grant few days,” Aroko told the court.
He also asked the court to allow the DCI to detain him at the Kileleshwa police station instead of the proposed Kasarani police station, which he said is too far from his family.
In his submissions, Aroko stated that Kileleshwa is near his home, where his family can access him when they need him.
The matter will be mentioned on May 16, 2025, to confirm how far they have progressed with investigations and whether there is a need to extend the detention.
