Magistrate Dismisses Request to have Uhuru, Raila Appear in Court for Leaked CCTV Case

An application seeking to have President Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga appear in court for cross-examination has been thrown out.

Two security guards who are accused of leaking CCTV footage of Uhuru and Raila were seeking to have the two leaders compelled to record statements and appear in court for questioning.

On Thursday, senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi of Milimani law courts dismissed the application, saying the evidence of Uhuru and Odinga is not relevant in the case.

“I find the application baseless and frivolous,” he ruled.

The magistrate noted that the defendants failed to show the relevance of the evidence of the said witnesses (Uhuru and Raila) bearing in mind that they were not the ones manning the CCTV cameras or in charge of their security. He added that the prosecution reserves the right to decide who to call as a witness.

Patrick Rading Ambogo and Magoma Ayonga are accused of leaking CCTV footage that captured Uhuru, Raila, and their entourage along Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi CBD in June. The two security guards were attached to Sarova Stanley Hotel. 

They were charged with an unauthorized interception of computer data contrary to section 17(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act.

The charge sheet read that on June 2nd, 2020 at around 8 pm, the accused persons intercepted a security CCTV footage capturing Uhuru and Raila driving into the city center to inspect projects being undertaken by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS). 

The two denied the charges and were released on a cash bail of Sh10,000 or Sh30,000 bond each.