A Nairobi court has ordered the arrest of a Nairobi City County official charged over the deadly collapse of Mamzil Towers in South C after he failed to appear in court to answer the charges against him.
John Gombe Osike, one of the accused persons in the criminal case, was the only absentee against whom the court issued a warrant of arrest during Monday's proceedings. The court also directed that fresh summonses be served on the other accused persons who were absent and ordered them to attend the next mention scheduled for July 27.
Osike is accused of willfully neglecting his duties as a public officer by allegedly failing to stop the construction of Mamzil Towers on Land Reference No. 209/5909/10 (Nairobi Block 68/1306) despite being aware that the project did not comply with legal requirements.
The prosecution, led by Nora Otieno, urged the court to issue warrants of arrest against the 5th to the 10th accused persons, arguing that they had ignored court summonses without offering any valid explanation.
"We are making an application for warrants of arrest against the 5th to the 10th accused persons. During the last appearance, we agreed to issue summonses instead of warrants. There was no reason given for their failure to attend court despite receiving the summons. No medical documents have been produced before this court, and we therefore pray that warrants of arrest be issued," Otieno told the court.
The application was opposed by defence lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui, who told the court that two of the accused had legitimate reasons for missing the session.
According to Omari, the 5th accused, Patrick Analo, was ill and medical records would be presented once they became available, while the 6th accused, Frederick Ondari, had travelled outside Nairobi to attend a funeral.
"The 5th accused is unwell, and we will produce the medical documents. The 6th accused travelled upcountry for a funeral. We undertake to produce both accused persons on the next mention date," Omari submitted.
He further informed the court that Analo had already collected the court summons from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), demonstrating his intention to comply with the court process.
After hearing both sides, the court declined to issue warrants against the remaining absent accused persons but directed that fresh summonses be served on them. However, it issued a warrant of arrest against Osike after finding that he had failed to attend court without sufficient justification.
The matter will be mentioned on July 27, when all the accused persons are expected to appear before the court.
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