The Director of Public Prosecutions on Monday, March 13, dropped all charges against former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his lawyer Danstan Omari
In a statement issued by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Lilian Obuo, the evidence availed by the DCI was not sufficient.
DCI charges against the former CS were conspiracy to commit a felony and publication of false information.
“The evidence provided did not meet the ingredients needed to prove each of the fore- mentioned offences as required by law.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions has therefore directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to close the inquiry file with no further police action,” the statement read in part.
Moreover, the DCI had submitted recommendations in an enquiry file dated March 7, 2023, that Fred Matiang’i and his advocate Danstan Omari be charged for the offences.
However, the ODPP stated that after independently reviewing statements from the witnesses and analysing the evidence provided, it did not find a reason to charge Matiang’i.
“The Director of Public Prosecutions found that the evidence provided was not sufficient to sustain the above charges against Dr Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i and his advocate Danstan Omari,” the statement added.
Charges against the former CS were a result of a report of an alleged invasion by police officers at his Karen home on February 8.
However, various agencies in the criminal justice system including DCI boss Mohamed Amid distanced themselves from the claims noting that no officer was deployed to arrest Matiang’i and declaring a probe to investigate the matter.
Earlier on Tuesday, March 7, CS Fred Matiang’i honoured his summons by the DCI accompanied by his legal team led by Lawyer Danstan Omari.
The summon faced criticism from the legal team including Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amollo who argued that the former CS had been interrogated for 15 minutes and detained for over five hours.
On the other hand, Lawyer Danstan Omari was also summoned by the directorate on February 21, the DCI to present himself for questioning over the alleged raid at CS Fred Matiang’i’s home.
The High Court on Thursday, March 9, extended orders barring the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from summoning lawyer Danstan Omari over an alleged raid at former CS Fred Matiang’i Karen’s home.
The court further ordered DCI not to interfere with the lawyer’s daily routine until the case was mentioned on April 18.
However, the lawyer filed an application under the certificate of urgency on February 21, asking the High Court to quash the summon which was stayed and on Thursday, March 9, extended by the court.
