Nairobi Women Representative Rachel Shebesh has said she will move to court this week to declare her opposition to an out of court settlement with Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero over assault claims. Her Lawyer Cecil Miller, yesterday confirmed he will file an affidavit on behalf of her client before the end of the week. “We will file on Wednesday or Thursday,” Mr Miller said.
Dr Kidero and Shebesh are embroiled in a bitter tussle in which Shebesh accuses the Nairobi Governor of slapping her during a demonstration she led to his office in September last year. Kidero on his part claims Shebesh assaulted him in the scuffle that was captured by television cameras. The decision by Shebesh to move to oppose an out of court settlement with the Governor, follows a court ruling last week by Isaac Lenaola in which, he asked the two parties to enter into negotiations to solve their dispute or face criminal charges at the magistrate’s court.
Justice Lenaola warned the two that they risked being dragged through the criminal justice system if they failed to amicably settle their dispute. “The two shall face criminal charges on a date to be decided by this court if they shall not have reached an agreement within seven days,” Lenaola ruled. According to the Director of Public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, Kidero will face charges of assault, while Shebesh will answer to charges of causing disturbance. A petition filed by Alex Nchore Ochako seeking to block the Governor’s prosecution argued that prosecuting Kidero was a political scheme. The reluctance by Shebesh to settle the matter out of court is in response to the assertions made by the petitioner that reconciliation efforts between the two antagonists were on going.
