Judge declines to summon journalists in rape case against Gideon Mwiti

Imenti Central MP Gideon Mwiti at the Milimani Law Courts on April 2, 2015 where he was charged with rape, assault and intimidation. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The article may have been written at the behest of “a person interested in the outcome of the case".
• The Judge assured the parties in the case that the court’s decision would not be influenced by anything happening outside the litigation arena.

By VINCENT AGOYA
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A High Court judge has declined to order an inquiry into how a medical report connected to a rape case against Imenti Central MP Gideon Mwiti was published in the media.

An article published in a local newspaper touched on a complainant that Mr Mwiti is alleged to have raped in his Nairobi office.

Justice Weldon Korir, in his ruling, said the media should ensure that ethical standards are maintained when publishing such reports but refrained from summoning the authors of the article as had been requested.

The decision by the judge arose from an application seeking a clarification on how journalists accessed the medical report before it was tabled in court.

MEDIA FREEDOM

The report, according to lawyer Wilfred Nderitu, who represents the victim in the rape case against the MP, created the impression that the author had accessed the victim’s medical records.

"The article attempts to determine the criminal case outside the four corners of the judicial proceedings," said Mr Nderitu.

He also alleged that the article may have been written at the behest of “a person interested in the outcome of the case".

However, Dr John Khaminwa, representing the MP, had opposed Mr Nderitu's application on the grounds that the Constitution guarantees media freedom and dragging the court into press matters "amounts to engaging in (an) extraneous exercise".

Mr Mwiti's rape trial was temporarily halted due to a petition he lodged before the High Court challenging the criminal case.

The petition, which is awaiting determination, is challenging his prosecution on the grounds that prosecution witnesses are also lawyers representing the complainant.

LITIGATION ARENA

Justice Korir on Tuesday said the courts cannot be swayed by reports appearing in the media, saying the ruling and judgments depend entirely on evidence placed for determination.

He said being dragged into determining the authenticity and the veracity of the medical report would mean "holding lengthy proceedings in an attempt to establish sources of information and correctness of the same".

The judge assured the parties in the case that the court’s decision would not be influenced by anything happening outside the litigation arena.

"For now, it is important for this court to focus its attention on the petition before it ... I will focus my energies on giving an answer as soon as practicable," the judge said.