REPUBLIC OF KENYA IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI CRIMINAL DIVISION MISC. CR. APPLICATION NO. 412 OF 2016 WILLIAM NTAIMENTI KIBARA……………..…….APPLICANT VERSUS REPUBLIC…………………....……………….....RESPONDENT RULING The applicant is the accused in Nairobi Traffic Case No. 9048 of 2016 where he is charged with seven counts under the Traffic Act Cap 403 Laws of Kenya, namely; two counts of causing death by dangerous driving, careless driving, driving a defective motor vehicle, failing to report an accident, driving a motor vehicle on a public road without a driving licence and failing to carry a driving licence. On taking the plea, he applied for bail which the prosecution opposed. The court denied him bail on grounds that he was a flight risk. Under Article 49(1)(h) of the Constitution bail/bond can only be denied if there exists compelling reasons. In the present case, the prosecutor in court only submitted that the charges attracted stiff sentences if convicted and that the applicant did not present himself to the police immediately after the accident. He was therefore deemed a flight risk. In my view, that statement of submission was not convincing enough to constitute a compelling reason to warrant a denial of bail. The prosecution ought to have advanced concrete reasons such as that the applicant did not have a fixed aboard or that his antecedents were doubtful. The offences charged are bailable and do not warrant a denial of bail. In the circumstances, I hold that the learned trial magistrate had no justification to denial the applicant bail. In the result, I admit him to a cash bail of Kshs. 150,000/= or to a surety bond of Kshs. 500,000/= to be assessed by the trial magistrate. It is so ordered. DATED and DELIVERED this 17th day of NOVEMBER, 2016. G.W. NGENYE-MACHARIA JUDGE In the presence of: 1. Mr. Ngari for the Applicant 2. Mr. Ongige for the Respondent.
A note on accuracy. These pages are generated automatically from our AI-written case briefs and have not been checked by a lawyer. Case titles and citations come from Kenya Law; the counts, topics, propositions and “treatment” labels are derived from the briefs and can be incomplete or wrong. Use them as a research aid and always read the original judgment before relying on anything here. This is not legal advice.