Erick Omondi’s lawyer Dunstan Omari suggests he was shooting a skit when police nabbed him
Popular lawyer Dunstan Omari has suggested his client, namely popular comedian Erick Omondi was shooting a script when he was arrested by police.
Mr Omari spoke in court while presenting a case for his client to be released on bail.
Mr Omondi has been charged with creating a disturbance.
“His is a comedian. An international comedian for that matter. Were they aware whether he was shooting a movie, shooting a script, or whether he was doing his normal professional job the way I do it as a lawyer?” Mr. Omari posed.
Mr Omari further claims Omondi’s arrest is a clear demonstration the police have not understood the act of comedy.
He said the law enforcers are clueless about the fight on the bigger picture the comedian is standing for, through art.
“He is bringing out the plight of 55 million Kenyans; Them not affording a meal, suffering because they can’t get jobs, and about the youths who are helpless.”
Omondi was arrested on April 3, 2023, along Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi where he appeared to stage demonstrations calling on the government to address the soaring cost of living.
According to the police charge sheet, the protest acted in a manner that could breach the peace of public.
“They raised very serious issues of the offense; He erected a barrier on the road. It could have been an offense under the law of traffic,” lawyer Omari, who is representing him, said.
By accusing him of making noise, the legal practitioner raised a question; To what decibels the amount of noise volume is prescribed under the act one cannot make noise?
“Discos, clubs, and louder speakers can be measured. Can human voices cause disturbance?” he posed.
The comedian was released on Sh5, 000 cash bail, and is expected to be back in court on April 13, 2023.
This is not the first time Mr Omondi has been arrested on similar alleged offences.
“The other day they arrested him on the account that he was taking CVs to the Head of State. State House has turned out to be an employment bureau. He is raising very grevios concerns for this country,” Omari explained to journalists after the court hearing.
“And once we told the court that, it agreed with us that Eric does not need to be treated the way the police are treating him. He was released on a meagre Sh5, 000 cashbail. The amount used to arrest him, sustain him in a police cell and arraign him (court expenses), in total the state must have used to the tune of Sh10 million.”
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