BY CLAUSE MASIKA
Directors of Nairobi Hospital got relief on Tuesday as the high court granted them anticipatory bail thereby barring the police from arresting them or detaining them in custody.
The embattled directors are at the centre of a leadership wrangles and corruption allegations at the hospital with the DCI summoning them to record statements on alleged fraud.
However, they will not be detained after getting the bail but the court said they can be investigated.
Justice Diana Kavedza granted them a Sh 100,000 Anticipatory bail each thereby shielding them from immediate arrest or detention.
In her ruling, Judge Kavedza said she had found merit in their arguments and issued the protective orders.
“I am only required to be satisfied, which I am, that unless the orders sought are granted, the applicants’ right to liberty under Article 29 of the Constitution will be compromised,” she ruled
Thw judge said that should a decision to charge them be made, the respondents must not arrest or detain the directors but instead inform them of the court where they are to appear for plea taking.
“Order (iv) shall remain in force until plea has been taken and the trial court has set new bail or bond terms, in which case the orders of this court shall lapse,” the court noted.
In the case, the directors had moved to court seeking protection from arrest or prosecution, stating they were willing to cooperate with authorities and present themselves with their lawyers whenever required by the police or the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to record statements.
Through their lawyers, Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui, they argued that the summons and anticipated arrest were solely based on their association with the hospital board.
They maintained that they are law-abiding citizens and alleged that the respondents, in exercising their powers of arrest, had engaged in harassment, intimidation, and coercion, forcing them to act contrary to the mandate and constitution of the Kenya Hospital Association Limited.
They further argued that such actions lacked justifiable cause and infringed upon their fundamental rights.
