A secondary school teacher Hillary Okeyo before a Nairobi court where he was released on a cash bail of Sh 500,000 on Friday October 16, 2015.
BY SAM ALFAN.
Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko has applied to have bond granted a teacher who allegedly defiled a school girl cancelled and he remanded in prison pending the hearing and determination of his criminal case.
The DPP through senior prosecution counsel Mr. Duncan Ondimu, says that trial magistrate failed to material facts placed before while granting bail to the accused Mr Hillary Okeyo.
He says that despite the accused is a teacher has relationship with students who are prosecution witnesses and he likely interfere.
Mr Ondimu the accused’s character antecedents association and community ties are not known.
The offence facing the accused is a serious and attracts a minimum of twenty years upon conviction which can be enhanced into life sentence by the appeal court, he says.
Due to the nature of the charge, the accused is likely to abscond trial, saying it is important that the bail term is reviewed.
The accused was arrested on 12 October 2015 on suspicion of having defiled a student at Higridge secondary school and was [produced in court on 14 October 2015 and entered plea of not guilty.
During the plea taking the prosecution opposed the release of the accused on bail given the gravity of the charge.
Today the Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo released the accused on Bond of Sh 2 million with a similar surety with alternative of cash bail of Sh 500,000
Hillary Okeyo had denied raping a 15-year-old form one student and had been remanded at the Milimani law courts cells.
Okeyo appeared on Friday before Chief Magistrate Daniel Ogembo, who said the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence that he accused would abscond if released and cited his “constitutional rights”.
Ogembo said the prosecution did not give the court compelling reasons for the denial of bond, and that there was no evidence that the accused could interfere with witnesses and the complainant.
“The accused person is a Kenyan Citizen and if he makes any attempt to commit indecent acts, the prosecution has the right to arrest him and bring him back to court,” he said.
Prosecution had earlier requested the denial of bond saying the public would lynch the accused, and citing the need to protect students.
The school in Parklands estate, Nairobi, was accused of covering up the case in which the teacher allegedly raped the form one student in a toilet.
Its administration did not report the matter to police or the girl’s family until four days later, when students protested and boycotted classes.
The girl’s mother said Okeyo ordered the student out of class during evening preps and told her to wait for him in the staffroom.
The case will be heard on November 24.
