On 20 November 2018, Violet Nzisa Katua, the wife of Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria, turned to the High Court in a bid to stop her arrest over a court-ordered payment to a crash victim.
Katua is challenging orders issued by Senior Principal Magistrate Liz Gicheha after she allegedly defaulted on payment of Sh738,000 awarded to Martha Onganga. The money was meant to compensate Onganga for injuries she says she suffered after Katua knocked her down with a Toyota Land Cruiser two years earlier.
In the appeal filed on November 12 through lawyer Pascal Mbeche, Katua wants the arrest orders set aside. She argues that the lower court failed to consider her income and her ability to pay the debt in monthly instalments of Sh100,000.
Katua told the court that she works for FON Creation Limited, a company that supplies products to supermarkets in Nakuru, and earns a gross monthly salary of Sh22,000. She says that figure makes it impossible for her to keep up with the payment plan ordered by the court.
According to the record, she was arrested on October 1 and later released on a Sh100,000 bond. A fresh warrant was then issued on November 12 after she failed to pay Sh80,000, which was required to clear the November instalment.
Onganga first went to court in 2016 seeking compensation for damages after the crash, saying she was on her way to work when she was hit. She claimed she suffered serious injuries and spent five months at Kijabe Hospital.
The matter was decided in her favour in October last year, when the court ordered Katua to pay the full amount.
