PS Facing Life Imprisonment For Wife Battery

Devolution Principal Secretary Julius Korir faces life imprisonment if convicted of a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to his wife.

Korir had moved to the High Court to stop his prosecution, but Justice Anthony Mrima yesterday dismissed the petition on grounds the State was right in mounting prosecution against him with the offence of assault and injuring his estranged wife Evelyn Koech while she was pregnant.

He had sought to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from arresting and prosecuting him in connection with the offence, terming it as illegal, in bad faith and infringement on his constitutional rights.

“The petitioner has not shown how the DPP violated the Constitution by authorising his prosecution, further, if the court quashes or grants the orders sought, it will frustrate the rule of law,” Justice Mrima ruled.

Korir risks losing his plum job in line with Chapter 6 of the Constitution as well as the Leadership and Integrity Act which  states that “any State officer automatically goes on suspension after taking a plea in a criminal case.”

He had argued that the prosecution was being used to coerce him to settle a matrimonial property score.

Matrimonial property

Judge Mrima has now set aside orders issued on February, that had temporarily shielded him from arrest and subsequent prosecution for the offence of causing grievous harm that attracts a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Court documents show that his wife reported the assault incident to Hardy Police Station in Karen on November 20, 2018, under OB 40/20/11/2018.

A medical examination report dated November 20, 2018, revealed that Evelyn   who was then pregnant, suffered bruises in the abdomen, the forearm and the legs.

A P3 form, signed by the police surgeon based at the police headquarters also showed she sustained thorax and abdomen injuries.

Korir and Evelyn’s marriage is said to have been experiencing problems, but matters took a turn for the worse when claims of assault emerged in 2018.

Evelyn has filed for divorce under application E015 of 2021 against Korir. The PS also faces a separate case in the children’s court, No: MCCC/E945 of 2020 where he is being asked to pay school fees and upkeep for his children.

Korir previously served in the State Department of Infrastructure in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development, and Public Works having been appointed in February 2018.

When he filed his petition challenging his prosecution, Korir was then the for State Department of Youth PS. “The petitioner has failed to prove how his prosecution at this stage will violate his rights.”

He added the impending prosecution will give him a chance to prove his innocence “before the trial court.”

After the judgement, Korir informed the court that he would appeal the decision and sought for a stay of 30 days which was, however, declined.