Justice is the means by which established injustices are sanctioned.
Two years after the killing of University of Leeds student Carliton Maina, Police Constable Emmanuel Oyombe was arrested on Wednesday, April 15 2020 after the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) concurred with the Independent Policing Oversight Authority's recommendation for murder charges against him.
The ODPP concurred that there was sufficient evidence to warrant prosecuting Abunya for killing the innocent student whose only crime was joining his friends to watch a football match at night.
According to the DCI, Constable Emmanuel Ambunya attached to Kenyatta National Hospital police station shot Carlton David Maina who later succumbed.
On Thursday, April 22, 2020, he was released on Ksh 600,000 cash bail or Ksh 1 million bond with a surety of the same amount.
However, he was barred from visiting Kibra until the case is heard and determined.
"I order you not to interfere with witnesses in any way or to visit Kibra pending determination of the case," Justice Lessit said.
She warned of dire consequences including cancellation of bond, should the accused disobey the directives.
Background
The 23-year-old student studied at the University of Leeds and had returned to Kenya from West Yorkshire to see his family for Christmas.
Maina studied electronic engineering at the university, was killed in Line Saba, Kibra on his way home from watching a football match on the fateful night.
He was a higher achiever, in 2013, he was the winner of the East African Community Essay writing competition. He also issued a Ted talk in 2016 just before he joined Leeds University where he talked about how lack of compassion between people is part of the reason the world has been unable to defeat poverty.
His death was a hallmark of many extra judicial killings that IMLU continues to condemn strongly. Nevertheless, IMLU continues to advocate for accountability in the Kenya Police Service.