Lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta have withdrawn from representing three suspects accused of murdering clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The lawyers told the High Court in Nairobi on Tuesday, September 29, that they had disagreed with their clients after additional issues were raised in court that had not been part of their earlier discussions.
Omari and Ombeta had gone to court prepared to argue the suspects’ bail applications but said they were surprised when allegations of torture, bribery and tribalism were raised.
“Our intention was very good, it was very bona fide, for the purposes of getting our clients on board as early as possible. We wanted to do the bail application today,” the lawyers told the court.
They said the new issues had not been included in the strategy they had agreed on with the accused persons before appearing in court.
“We walk into court knowing that today is a bail application, but another application that has been filed today tries to bring about a bail application, whereby the state looks at it, says that they have got issues that have been raised that are very weighty. There are allegations of bribery, there are allegations of torture,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers denied that their decision to withdraw was motivated by money or publicity, saying they had acted in what they considered to be the best interests of their clients.
“We don’t do it for the sake of money or publicity. We are not interested in that. It is in the best interest of the client. And if we are not going to agree, the best interest of the client right now was that we withdraw,” they said.
The court allowed Omari, Ombeta and other lawyers who had been representing the three suspects to cease acting for them after the accused persons did not object to the withdrawal.
The three suspects are accused alongside two police officers of allegedly planning and carrying out Mutiso’s murder on July 29.
All the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges during Tuesday’s proceedings.
The court set October 6 for the hearing of the bail application, while the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was given three days to file and serve an affidavit in response.
Victoria Mutiso, a clinical psychologist and mental health researcher, was killed in Nairobi on July 29 after the taxi she was travelling in was attacked at a road junction.
According to the case presented by investigators, armed attackers on a motorcycle and in a vehicle ambushed the taxi before a gunman opened fire. Mutiso was taken to hospital but later died.
Investigators have linked the killing to a long-running land dispute and allege that relatives were involved in arranging the attack.
The allegations have yet to be tested in court.
