There was drama at the Milimani Law Courts after the former Director of Operations at the Kenya Police Service John Edward Njeru punched a city lawyer during a heated cross-examination session on Monday, September 27.
The 69-year-old was seemingly upset by the number of questions that lawyer Alex Kimani was asking during cross-examination and responded by landing a heavy blow to the advocate’s abdomen.
This happened after the lawyer had petitioned the court to permit him to approach the retired police boss in order to have him take a closer look at some documents.
Upon nearing the complainant, Njeru took the opportunity to assault the lawyer who is now suffering from serious injuries after the incident.
He was said to have been angry that Kimani was asking him too many questions in a case where he was the witness.
After the ordeal, the court handed the witness a one-day jail term while the lawyer was rushed to the hospital for medical assistance.
“After yesterday’s incident, my colleague (Kimani) developed a sharp pain in his abdomen. He visited the hospital and was advised by the doctor to undergo a scan this morning to ascertain the cause of the pain,” lawyer Waweru Benson elaborated to Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi on Tuesday.
Waweru further explained that this was not the first time that Njeru had disrespected the court as he has made derogatory remarks to a prosecutor in the past.
In light of these facts, the magistrate advised Kimani to report the incident to the police and further faulted the act.
The retiree is a complainant in a fraud case involving a forged certificate of lease for a piece of land in Nanyuki.
“After the yesterday’s incident, my colleague (Kimani) developed a sharp pain in his abdomen. He visited the hospital was advised by the doctor to undergo a scan this morning to ascertain the cause of the pain.
“The accused person has a right of presentation and no one can stop that representation either by word of mouth or assault as it happened yesterday. No one is above the law. I have information that the complainant used abusive language to a prosecutor in a previous court,” a lawyer told the press.
Benson urged the prosecution to join the defence in condemning the action and also asked the court to issue an order for detention of Njeru for more days until the matter is reported to the police
The Magistrate however said;
“Following the unfortunate incident that happened yesterday that a witness physically confronted a lawyer, I ordered the witness to be detained for one day. I take notice that the lawyer is unwell due to the incident and I urge him to report to the nearest police station for officers to carry out investigations and file a report in court.
“The action is totally unacceptable in this court and it’s seriously condemned.”