A Nairobi court has lifted an arrest warrant issued against Nairobi City County official John Gombe Osike, one of the accused in the South C building collapse case, after accepting medical evidence explaining his absence from the previous court session.
The warrant was vacated after Osike appeared before the court through his lawyer, Mutea Muthuri, who told the court that his client had been unwell and was therefore unable to attend the last mention of the case.
Muthuri presented medical records showing that Osike had sought treatment at a Nairobi health facility, where he was examined and declared medically unfit to attend court proceedings.
According to the documents, doctors granted him three days' sick leave and scheduled him for a medical review on July 22.
After reviewing the evidence, the court accepted the explanation, lifted the warrant of arrest and allowed Osike to continue participating in the proceedings.
The warrant had been issued after the county official failed to appear in court during the previous mention of the case.
At the time, prosecutor Nora Otieno applied for warrants of arrest against the fifth to the tenth accused persons, arguing that they had failed to honour court summons without offering satisfactory reasons for their absence.
While the court issued a warrant against Osike, it instead directed that summons be served on the remaining absent accused persons and ordered them to appear before the court to respond to the charges facing them.
Osike is among several individuals charged over the collapse of Mamzil Towers in Nairobi's South C Estate, an incident that triggered criminal proceedings over alleged negligence and failure to enforce construction regulations.
The prosecution alleges that, while serving as an employee of the Nairobi City County Government, Osike willfully neglected his duty by failing to stop the construction of Mamzil Towers on Land Reference No. 209/5909/10 (Nairobi Block 68/1306), despite allegedly knowing that the development did not comply with the required regulations.
According to the charge sheet, he had a legal obligation to enforce compliance but failed to take the necessary action.
The case is scheduled to return to court on July 27, when it will be mentioned for further directions as the prosecution continues pursuing the matter against all the accused.