R.M v ATTORNEY GENERAL & 4 others [2010] eKLR
petitioner has not given any reason for this failure. Be that as it may, the petitioner’s alleged violation of
his fundamental rights is anchored on the fact that he was detained at Kitui Police station during the
pendency of his criminal trial. He contends that the said detention was illegal and unconstitutional.
150.
The petitioner having been an accused person facing a charge of robbery with violence
which is punishable by death, was not under Section 72(5) of the Constitution entitled to bail during the
pendency of the criminal trial. The petitioner ought to have been remanded in custody during the
pendency of the criminal trial. Indeed, it is not disputed that the petitioner was remanded in prison
custody at Kitui Police Station pursuant to a court order. The order was made taking into account the
petitioner’s intersex status, and the fact that there was nowhere appropriate to remand the petitioner
during the pendency of the criminal trial. The detention of the petitioner at the police station was
therefore legal as it was done pursuant to a court order which was necessitated by the circumstances of
the petitioner. Moreover the petitioner’s fundamental right to liberty during the pendency of the criminal
trial was limited under section 72(1)(e) and(5) of the Constitution by the fact that he was facing a capital
charge.
151.
The petitioner was tried and convicted of the criminal offence by a court of competent
jurisdiction. There is no evidence that the petitioner was not afforded a fair hearing, or that the court was
not independent or impartial. No reason has been given vitiating the petitioner’s trial other than the
alleged violation of his right to liberty because he was detained at Kitui Police Station. But even
assuming for the sake of argument, that the petitioner was illegally detained, or that he has been
discriminated against, such violation of his rights would not vitiate his criminal trial, but would only give
the petitioner a cause of action for damages. We are fortified in this view by the position recently taken
by the Court of Appeal in Julius Kamau Mbugua vs Republic (2010) eKLR as follows:
“Lastly, had we found that the extra judicial detention was unlawful and that it is related to the
trial, nevertheless, we would still consider the acquittal or discharge as a disproportionate,
inappropriate and draconian remedy seeing that the public security would be compromised. If by
the time an accused person makes an application to the court, the right has already been
breached, and the right can no longer be enjoyed, secured or enforced, as is invariably the case,
then, the only appropriate remedy under Section 84(1) would be an order for compensation for
such breach. The rationale for prescribing monetary compensation in Section 72(6) was that the
person having already been unlawfully arrested or detained such unlawful arrest or detention
cannot be undone and hence the breach can only be vindicated by damages.”
152.
Consequently, we reject the petitioner’s contention that his rights were violated during the
criminal trial in Kitui Court. We find no just cause to interfere with the petitioner’s conviction of the
criminal offence either due to his intersex status or alleged violation of his constitutional rights and reject
his pleas for acquittal.
Whether the provisions of The Prisons Act and Prisons Rules are discriminatory against the
petitioner.
153.
The petitioner identified Sections 28, 30, 31 and 38 of The Prisons Act, as well as Rules
25(1), 103, and 104 of The Prisons Rules, as resulting in the violation of his fundamental rights. We have
perused these provisions. Section 28 of The Prisons Act provides for a woman prison officer to take care
of female prisoners. Section 30 of The Prisons Act, provides for every prisoner to be in lawful custody of
the officer in charge of the prisons, while Section 38 of The Prisons Act provides for removal of prisoners
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