Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa has called in sick when she was supposed to appear in court for the hearing of her murder trial.
Jumwa, through her advocate, said she was unwell and therefore could not travel to Mombasa to attend the court session.
According to her advocate Danstan Omari, Jumwa was taken ill and her doctors advised her to have a 5-day bed rest.
“Ms Jumwa has been taken ill. She has been advised by her doctors to take bed rest for five days,” Omari said.
Omari said Jumwa was prepared for the trial but sought an adjournment of the case until she feels better.
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However, the prosecution did not buy the story and termed Jumwa’s sickness as a ploy to derail her trial case.
The prosecution asked Judge Anne Ong’injo to issue a warrant of arrest against Jumwa for failure to appear before the court.
Ong’injo instead demanded signed and stamped documents proving that Jumwa was indeed unwell.
She adjourned the trial case upon the documents she asked for were presented before her and asked the complete medical report be presented in court in February.
The case was adjourned to February 1.
“The case to proceed on February 1,” Ong’injo said.
Jumwa and her aide Geoffrey Okuto were charged with the murder of a man when chaos erupted during the Ganda Ward by-election on October 15, 2019.
The duo pleaded not guilty before Mombasa High Court Judge Njoki Mwangi in October 2020.
