Devolution PS Julius Korir charged with wife battery
A principal secretary who has skipped court attendance over a gender violence claim has eventually been charged with assaulting his estranged wife.
Mr Julius Korir, the Devolution PS, surrendered to the court after 3pm Monday after a warrant of his arrest was issued by Milimani Law Courts Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi.
Mr Korir was accompanied by his lawyer, Justice (retired) Nicholas Ombija, when he showed up in court.
His estranged wife, Ms Everlyn Koech, had spent the whole morning in the courtroom waiting for her husband to be charged.
Declining to give Mr Korir more time to settle the matter out of court, Ms Shitubi said the court had given him many weeks to reach an amicable solution in the dispute.
Rent
Justice Ombija had told the magistrate earlier that Ms Koech had declined to receive Sh450,000, being rent from one of the properties the couple jointly developed.
She had also declined to receive another Sh450,000 rent for January- February 2022, he said.
The court also heard that the PS had prepared a list of properties that he has allocated his estranged wife and given it to her lawyer, Mr Kemboi Kibet.
“We sent Kibet a letter containing the properties the PS has relinquished to her and we are waiting for her to accept the offer, then sign it,” Justice Ombija told the magistrate.
However, Mr Kibet said he received the letter from Justice Ombija yesterday at 7.30am.
The magistrate was told proposals of an out-of-court settlement were “just meant to delay the determination of the criminal case”.
Assaulting his wife emotionally
The court heard that the accused is a PS in the ministry that deals with gender violence, yet “he has continuously been assaulting his wife emotionally”.
The complainant’s lawyer applied for a warrant of arrest.
State Prosecutor Alice Mathangani told the court the PS had been indulged several times, but resolution of the matter in an amicable way was not forthcoming.
Ms Mathangani said the PS had been summoned to attend court and he had not shown up.
“I leave the matter of the warrant against the PS to the Court,” Ms Mathangani said.
Ms Shitubi issued the warrant against Mr Korir, but lifted it shortly thereafter, when the PS presented himself to court, saying he was ready to answer to the charges.
He denied that on September 17,2020 at Karen estate Nairobi he assaulted his wife.
Justice Ombija applied for his release on bond, to which Ms Mathangani did not object.
The PS was freed on a bond of Sh20,000, with the case set for mention on April 19 for pre-trial directions.