By: Elijah Maingi
Meru Senator Mithika Linturi was on Monday set free by the court after prosecutors failed to bring charges against him over his ‘madoadoa’ remarks.
Nakuru Chief Magistrate Ednah Nyaloti closed the case upon the expiry of the period given to the police to conclude their investigations before charging the senator. “The application by the prosecution to have the miscellaneous application closed and withdrawn is hereby allowed and the court directs that the cash bail be released to the depositor,” the magistrate ruled.
The court on January 26 gave the police a month to finish their investigations into Mr. Linturi’s alleged incitement remarks that he made during Deputy President William Ruto’s rally on January 8 in Eldoret.
During a rally in Eldoret, Linturi asked Uasin Gishu residents to reject “madoadoa” who do not support the deputy president’s presidential bid. The comments caused an online uproar and the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji had ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hilary Mutyambai to launch investigations into the utterances.
The word “madoadoa” caused tension and hostility in the run-up to the 2007 elections and is always deemed politically insensitive. Mr. Linturi was arrested on the evening of January 8 at a hotel in Eldoret after attending a rally that was organized by the Deputy President. Days after his arrest, Linturi was granted a KSh 2 million cash bail or a bond of KSh 5 million with a surety of a similar amount.
Reacting to the ruling, Mr. Linturi thanked the court and the prosecution for their decision to discontinue the case, saying it confirmed that it was politically motivated. Mr. Linturi condemned the Directorate of Criminal investigations, saying it had misused public resources to serve political interests.
He advised DCI boss George Kinoti to avoid being used by politicians to settle their political scores.
“I am very concerned about the wanton misuse of public resources by the office of the DCI in arraigning people in court and wasting judicial time on matters that are not necessary. The resources should have been used to serve Kenyans better,” he said.