This archive report was first published on 26 October 2019.
A Nairobi court has allowed police to detain a United States national accused of assaulting and causing bodily harm to a Kenyan police officer.
On October 26th, 2019, Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Onkwani heard the case of Alex Harpe, a private company executive accused of attacking Police Corporal Duncan Kiprono and causing a disturbance at Azuri Hotel in Nairobi's Kileleshwa area on October 14th, 2019.
Harpe pleaded not guilty to the charges of assault and creating a disturbance, but the prosecution and defense teams presented opposing views on his bail application.
Lawyers for the complainant, Felix Kiprono, Festus Mbati, and Francis Karanja, argued that Harpe would interfere with witnesses if released, citing the severity of the alleged attack and the fact that he injured a police officer and chased away a receptionist at Azuri Hotel.
"If released he will flee and interfere with witnesses. The accused injured a police officer [and chased] away a receptionist at Azuri Hotel," said lawyer Kiprono.
The prosecution agreed that Harpe was a flight risk and urged the court to deny him bail, stating that there were convincing reasons to do so.
However, the defense team argued that the Constitution does not discriminate against local citizens and foreigners, and that all individuals are treated equally in the face of the law.
A ruling on Harpe's bail application will be delivered on October 30th, 2019.
