Babu Owino otherwise known as Paul Ongili has petitioned the court seeking an acquittal from the charges of misuse of a firearm that he is currently facing.
Through his lawyer Duncan Okatch, Babu told Milimani senior principal magistrate Bernard Ochoi that he should be acquitted under section 215 of the CPC. He says the State lacks evidence and has failed to prove its case beyond any reasonable doubt.
“Throughout the case, none of the witnesses did actually testify to the fact that the accused person was disorderly as none of the witnesses actually saw the accused person behaving in the alleged disorderly manner,” Okatch argues.
In his submissions, Babu Owino asserted that the prosecution’s reliance on CCTV evidence was insufficient, as none of the witnesses supported the alleged disorderly conduct charges.
Babu Owino also argues that the allegations of him being intoxicated on the day DJ Evolve was shot lack substantiation from a toxicology report and are mere accusations.
“Your Honour, we submit that the allegation that the accused person shot the firearm with intent to kill is not backed up by any evidence as even the victim did testify for the defence where he informed this court, that the accused person and himself had been friends over the years and as such he had no motive to shoot him,” he submitted.
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The former University of Nairobi student leader asserts that the burden lies with the prosecution to provide concrete evidence demonstrating that he was drunk, leading to his alleged disorderly behavior.
Additionally, Babu Owino wants the court to reprimand the prosecution for wasting precious judicial time on a case that “in all fairness, ought not to have been instituted”.
“We most humbly submit that the prosecution has failed to establish that the accused person is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. Differently put, the prosecution case is akin to the type civil litigants describe as scandalous, frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of the court process,” Owino submits.
According to Babu Owino, the case must have been instituted in bad faith or incompetence, or both.
“The prosecution is very much aware that identity theft is one of the greatest challenges that has come with the world going digital and as such instead of condemning an innocent man the prosecutor should divert its energy to ensure that the actual perpetrator is caught,” Babu added.
