Siaya man to court: Don’t jail my attacker, he will languish in prison
The entrance of Siaya law courts where a man, James Ogola, a retired civil servant stunned the magistrate after applying to withdraw a case against a young man he had accused of attacking and stealing from him.
Photo credit: Kassim Adinasi | Nation Media Group.
A 65-year-old man surprised a magistrate’s court sitting in Siaya when he decided to forgive and withdraw the case against a man who he'd accused of assaulting him.
The man is accused of stealing Sh138,000 and leaving him wounded.
Mr James Ogola, a retired civil servant and a telecommunications engineer was heading home when three men attacked him and stole his money and other vital documents.
He told the court, presided over by Siaya magistrate Lester Simiyu, that he knew his three attackers who were armed and the suspect identified as Collins Onyango was among them.
“I am a retired civil servant. Currently I run a small business consisting of an Mpesa shop and an outlet for solar lamps in Siaya town. On January 4, I closed down and was heading home as usual when three men armed with crude weapons attacked me,” said Mr Ogola, when he testified in court with stitches of wounds he sustained from the ordeal.
He went on, “However, I plead with the court on his behalf to forgive him just as I have forgiven him. He is a young man and going to prison will hurt him more. I want him to reform and follow the right path of life. Crime will not help him.”
When the Magistrate asked whether he was coerced to withdraw the case, he responded that his faith compelled him to.
“I was born in 1958. For all those years nobody has taken me to court nor have I testified against anyone in court. I want to live a peaceful life, I also want the suspect and other attackers who are not in court to learn from this and reform,” he added.
Other than Sh138,000, Mr Ogola lost an ATM cards, identification cards and driving license to the complainant.
