The reality recently dawned on a senior Magistrate in Kenya’s Nyeri county accused of having a hand in the murder of her late husband as she expressed fear of being in danger if placed among prisoners who she previously sentenced.
Pauline Maisy Chesang was due to be remanded in prison custody to pave way for full trial, but she said she simply would not be safe being placed among inmates in Machakos Prison.
On Tuesday, March 12, her lawyer, Assa Nyakundi argued that: “If she must be remanded, I pray that she be held at Athi River Police Station and not Machakos where she is likely to encounter inmates whom she might have sentenced while serving in some stations.”
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Assa Nyakundi further argued that remanding her client was not necessary in the first place, claiming she is still a serving magistrate.
“The first accused is a serving magistrate and has not yet taken plea. She is innocent until proven guilty. Keeping her further in custody is an affront to her constitutional rights, and furthermore, she has rendered distinguished service to the judiciary for many years,” Tuko.co.ke quoted Nyakundi as saying.
Meanwhile, the court appreciated her security concern raised through her lawyer, and remanded her at the Athi River Police Station instead of Machakos prison.
Her alleged accomplices, Richard Moru, Lawrence Lempesi and Peter Maundu were however reportedly taken to Machakos G.K Prison to reappear in court on April 9 to take their pleas.
The magistrate and the above mentioned accomplices are facing trial following the brutal murder of her husband, lawyer Robert Chesang at his home in Lukenya, Machakos county, on Sunday, February 17.
The moral lesson here is that, if you find yourself in a privileged position today, it does not mean you will remain there forever. If Pauline Maisy Chesang is eventually found guilty of the charges proffered against her, she definitely will join inmates she had sentenced in prison.