The retrial of Julius Wambua, the man who was jailed for life in 2011 over what turned out to be a false incest accusation by his daughter, has been terminated by a Kithimani court on Tuesday.
This is after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) terminated the criminal proceedings, effectively bringing the intended retrial to a close.
However, this does not entirely exonerate Mr Wambua as the DPP had earlier indicated that he is seeking to appeal the High Court decision that saw Mr Wambua walk out of Kamiti Maximum Prison.
“I have proceeded to terminate the charges under Section 25 of the Office of the Public Prosecutions Act. The cash bail is to be released to the depositor,” Ms Eva Wambugu, the senior resident magistrate at Kithimani Law Courts, ruled.
Mr Wambua celebrated the decision today as he crossed his fingers that he will eventually emerge triumphant.
“I have been carrying a heavy burden on my shoulders but now I am relieved. I am glad the Kithimani court has put an end to the criminal proceedings,” he said, adding that the freedom would enable him to concentrate on settling down.
For now, his legal team is preparing to tackle the DPP’s appeal.
“We await to be served with the appeal to see what concerns they are raising, what areas of dissatisfaction they have with the judgement of the High Court and then we shall respond and the Court of Appeal will hear us and finally render its final decision,” Mr Wambua’s lawyer, Cyrus Maweu, told the Nation after the court session.
The 56-year-old worked as a guard at a Kenya Wines Agencies Limited orchard at Yatta in Machakos County when he was arrested on the evening of April 28, 2011 for what would later emerge to be trumped up charges. A Kithimani court convicted him of defiling his daughter, Dorcas Mwende, on January 24, 2012 and condemned him to life in prison where he remained for nine years.
Three years after conviction, a remorseful Ms Mwende visited her father in jail and revealed that she had been coached by her mother, Jackline Nzilani, to frame him. The revelation set off an appeal that took years to finalise.
The court heard Ms Nzilani banked on the case to settle a domestic grudge with Mr Wambua. Ms Nzilani has, however, stood her ground: insisting that her estranged husband was guilty as charged.
High Court judge George Odunga a month ago ruled that Mr Wambua had suffered a mistrial and directed the he be retried at Kithimani law courts.
At the time, there was no homecoming party to celebrate his freedom as Mr Wambua had no place to call home. He found that his family had disintegrated and that his estranged wife sold their land in Kithimani, Machakos County.
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