Man facing noose freed after 8-year jail agony
It has been eight years behind bars for Victor Mwai who had remained optimistic that one day he would be reunites with his family.
A Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of robbery with violence and sentenced him to death on May 5, 2006.
He appealed but the High Court upheld his sentence when a two-judge bench gave their verdict on February 4, 2009.
Despite all these, Mwai did not give up and two months ago, the prison gates finally opened for him after a three-judge bench held that he was wrongly jailed and ordered him released.
The Court of Appeal judges agreed with the arguments advanced by Mwai through lawyer John Swaka that both the Magistrate’s Court and the High Court erred when they upheld the sentence yet the name on the charge sheet was different from that of the complainant.
“The person indicated as having been robbed is David Mwaura Munge, while the person who testified as the complainant is David Kangethe Ng’ang’a. There was also a variance in terms of what was lost as the charge sheet referred to Sh17, 000 yet evidence given in court was Sh7, 000 thus denying Mr Mwai an opportunity to effectively defend himself,” explained the lawyer.
The judges also agreed with Mr Swaka’s argument that the magistrate court erred in refusing to allow Mr Mwai to call witnesses.