Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino formally known as Paul Ongili can now breathe-easy after the High Court reduced his cash bail by half from Ksh10 million to Ksh5 million in attempted murder case in Nairobi.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Luka Kimaru on Tuesday morning, the lawmaker was given an alternative bond of Ksh10 million with two sureties of a similar amount.
The judge noted that there were no compelling reasons to deny him bail or bond.
The lawmaker, who is charged with attempted murder, following a shooting incident at B-club in Kilimani that left Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve injured, was released in January on Ksh10 million cash bail after spending over a week in custody.
Read: Babu Owino’s Lawyer Claims State Hatching Plot To Prefer Murder Charges Against MP
Milimani Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi had ordered that the amount be paid in four instalments of Ksh2.5 million for four months.
Further, Andayi noted that the money deposited with the court will be used to settle Dj Evolve’s hospital bill at the Nairobi Hospital where he is admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
But the magistrate later recused himself after the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji questioned the bail terms.
Read Also: Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi Recuses Self From Babu Owino’s Attempted Murder Case
In the Tuesday ruling, Justice Kimaru stated that Babu Owino will only help foot DJ Evolve’s medical bill as a moral obligation.
“The accused person should continue paying the hospital bill as a moral duty to him, not as a court order…if he fails to pay it is up to him and his court,” Justice Kimaru said.
Babu had on January 30 filed two urgent applications, with one seeking a review of his bond terms.
Read Also: Babu Owino Breaks Silence Over Ballooning DJ Evolve’s Hospital Bill
He argued that the Ksh10 million bail was too high and should be slashed. In the other application, the lawmaker through his lawyers Duncan Okachi, Danstun Omari and Cliff Ombeta, Babu asked the court to gag the DPP from making comments about his release.
The MP has so far deposited Ksh4.4 million as cash bail.
Speaking last month over DJ Evolve’s ballooning medical bill at the Nairobi Hospital that is now over Ksh7 million, Babu Owino stated that the bill should be the last thing the victim and the family should worry about.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
