Man ‘clobbered’ for celebrating William Ruto’s poll victory
A man accused of attacking a colleague who was celebrating President William Ruto’s win in the August 9, 2022 elections is battling charges of attempted murder and causing grievous harm.
At Makadara Law Courts, Rophus Okola Opuya was charged with attempting to murder Brian Karanja Maritim on August 14 in Matopeni area, Kamukunji sub-county in Nairobi.
Opuya faces separate charges of causing grievous injuries to Maritim during the incident, jointly with two others who are still at large.
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The trio allegedly attacked and assaulted Maritim with stones and wooden bars leaving him unconscious.
Opuya and his accomplices allegedly trailed Maritim after he was ordered out of a bar for publicly celebrating presidential elections tallying that showed Ruto had gained the lead, a day before he was declared the winner.
Maritim is said to have annoyed other revelers who were supporting a different presidential candidate, Ruto’s opponent.
He was cheering for Ruto who was leading in the tallying before the results were announced.
Maritim was later hospitalized for days and police took up investigations after the matter was reported.
Police arrested Opuya after he was identified by Maritim as among the assailants who assaulted him.
Opuya denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Eric Mutunga.
He was released on bond and the matter will be mentioned on October 5 for a pre-trial.
The prosecution has lined up six witnesses against Opuya including the complainant, his sister and two police officers.