The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has dropped charges against a Rome-based Catholic priest from Siaya County Richard Odour accused of knowingly spreading the novel coronavirus disease (Covi-19).
In the application to withdraw the case, the DPP stated that police failed to produce witnesses in the trial hence frustrating court proceedings.
“CCIO Kilimani has failed to produce witnesses in court nine times, making the court to adjourn the hearing of this case”, the court heard on Thursday.
Following the request, the case was withdrawn under section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code which permits the prosecutor to apply before the court seized of the case to withdraw charges facing an accused person at any time before final a final judgement is delivered.
Father Oduor was arrested in April after being discharged from the Kenyatta Hospital.
Read: Siaya Priest Richard Oduor Released On Sh150,000 Bail After Denying Knowingly Spreading Coronavirus
He was arraigned and freed on bail of Ksh150,000 or Ksh500,000 bond after denying the charge of knowingly spreading the coronavirus disease in the country over failure to self-quarantine after jetting into the country from Rome on March 11.
Upon arriving in the country, father Oduor is said to have spent a day in Nairobi and then left for his ancestral home in Ambira, Siaya County where he conducted mass at a relative’s funeral.
He returned to Nairobi when he exhibited coronavirus symptoms and later tested positive for the virus.
He was accused of transmitting the virus to several other people who attended his mass in Siaya.
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