High Court Refuses to Halt Arrest of Pokot South MP Pkosing

HomeNewsHigh Court Refuses to Halt Arrest of Pokot South MP Pkosing

David Pkosing, a member of parliament for Pokot South who has had run-ins with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over banditry allegations over the past week, has been denied bail.

Pkosing, through his attorney Danstan Omari, had petitioned the court on Friday of the previous week to prevent his alleged imminent arrest pending the hearing of his application.

In the application filed at the Milimani Law Court before Lady Justice Diana Mochache, he named the DCI, Inspector General of Police, as well as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

ALSO READ: Donkey Meat Seized, Two Arrested in Limuru Raid

The third-term member of parliament stated in his application that he was arrested while leaving his office on Thursday of last week at approximately 5:30 p.m. and taken to the DCI headquarters on Kiambu Road, where he was interrogated for hours before being released at 11:30 p.m.

The subject of Pkosing’s arrest and subsequent interrogation, according to him, was an allegation that he funded banditry in the North Rift, which he describes as “absurd and unfounded.”

The lawmaker went on to say that, upon his release, he was instructed to return to the DCI headquarters the following morning at 8 a.m., which he did, only to be turned away and told to return at 4:30 p.m. the same day to respond to allegations of money laundering.

“…the Applicant has never received any other summons to appear at a police station or investigative agency.” Thus, he fears that the purpose of requiring him to appear at the DCI offices at 4.30 p.m. on a Friday is to arbitrarily detain him until Monday of the following week,” stated attorney Omari in court documents.

ALSO READ: Fire ravages Mwea village, destroying Ksh400,000 worth of property in Kirinyaga.

In addition, the news of his impending arrest has been widely disseminated and reported in the media and on social media platforms, and he fears that the Kenyan police will raid his home and arrest him.

Omari added, “The 2nd Respondent (Inspector General of Police) has already demonstrated malicious intent and a clear disregard for the rule of law by abusing the due process, as evidenced by the unwarranted arrest and speedy transfer to DCI HQ offices without allowing him to appear before the aforementioned offices on his own.”

Pkosing attributed his woes to his political leanings in his supporting affidavit, stating that he contested and won his seat on the KUP Party, which is part of the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition.

“…in addition, I am being persecuted because I offered to bail out seven young men who were arraigned on February 6, 2023, in Kitale Miscellaneous Criminal Case No. E023 OF 2023,” he stated in court documents.

“Additionally, I stepped in to save the aforementioned Respondents for the simple reason that they are constituents of the Pokot South Constituency, which I represent in the National Assembly.”

The application was submitted on February 17 and deemed urgent by Justice Mochache on February 21, who then urged the legislator to serve the respondents by the afternoon of February 22, 2023.

The Lady Justice subsequently scheduled the application hearing for February 23, 2023, at 3 p.m.

READ MORE: