Two Homa Bay county assembly members were back in court on Wednesday, 21 November 2018, just a day after leaving remand at Kodiaga Prison, after prosecutors accused them of assaulting a court server.
Julius Gaya and Philomen Onditi denied the charge before a Kisumu court, where they were accused of attacking Elvis Ochieng' on November 14 as he tried to serve a contempt order on Clerk Joseph Kaudo.
According to Ochieng', the order was meant to compel Kaudo to appear over claims that he allowed the swearing-in of Gwassi North MCA Evans Marieba as acting speaker. He told the court that the two legislators, who were in a sitting, turned on him with kicks and blows after accusing him of meddling.
Ochieng' said he ran to Homa Bay police station for safety, while his driver escaped to avoid being attacked.
Principal magistrate Christopher Yalwala released each MCA on Sh50,000 bond or Sh20,000 cash bail. Their lawyer, Agrey Mwamu, asked the court to free them on bond, saying they had already been released on bond in a similar assault case. Prosecutor Lazurus Sirtui did not oppose the application.
The case will be mentioned on November 30, the same date Speaker Elizabeth Oyoo's assault matter is also due for mention.
Homa Bay county assembly has been rocked by internal disputes since the removal of former majority leader Richard Ogindo. The wrangles later led to the impeachment of Ayoo, although the speaker secured orders allowing her to remain in office.
Related reports published by The Star included a November 16, 2018 story on seven Homa Bay MCAs being detained for 14 days over the alleged assault of the speaker, and a November 6, 2018 report on the court reinstating the impeached Homa Bay speaker.
