Still in Makadara, court users were left in stitches when an accused person, employing every trick in the book, begged the Chief Magistrate to refer him to “any to any other court apart from Courts 2, 3 and 5” for retrial. The accused, a young sheng’ speaking robbery with violence suspect, told the Chief Magistrate that his fellow inmates had warned him against appearing before the aforementioned courts as they were notorious for handing down convictions. It was Court 5 that had initially tried and convicted him.
The court was initially dismissive of this request but after a lot of emotional blackmail and incessant begging during which the accused prostrated himself before the learned magistrate calling him bro and fazela (sheng’ for dad), the learned Magistrate read out the remaining courts and asked him to “place his bet… chagua yenye wanaachilia”. He chose Court 4 and went away singing the Magistrate’s praises. Unbeknownst to him, anyone who has appeared before the Magistrate in Court 4 would have told him he had made the wrong bet!
An earlier prayer to be granted cash bail had been denied owing to the fact that he was found in the possession of a gun at the alleged commission of the crime. The matter is R. v. Benard Mwangi Wacera CR no. 1237/19.
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