Court frees 57 youths arrested at Lang’ata party
Fifty seven youths, including 17 minors, who were arrested during a drinking party on Thursday night have been released unconditionally.
The owner of the house they had converged for the party, a South Sudanese woman, was however remanded after denying three counts of supplying alcohol to minors, selling alcohol without a licence and being in the country illegally.
Mary Nyanyuk said she had organized the party for his son who had scored A in the just released KCSE results.
The youth were from different estates in the city were charged with being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Kibera Senior Resident Shadrack Mwinzi interrogated each one of them in a bid to establish what they were doing the house.
FRIEND’S SUCCESS
“We had gone for a party to celebrate our friend’s success in KCSE. It is true there was alcohol but we did not have narcotics. The alcohol was in party cups,” one of the minors told court as parents listened.
Although the charge sheet stated that they were found in a public place, the prosecution, while reading the facts said they were in a private house.
“A Private house cannot be a public place. The charge sheet, as it is, does not disclose an offence,” Mr Mwinzi said.
“The house is in an estate and it was neighbours who called the police after the accused became disorderly,” a prosecutor said.
PRIVACY
Defense lawyers said the charges were an infringement to the privacy of the accused since they were not arrested in a public place.
Mr Mwinzi released the youths unconditionally, but warned the minor against involving themselves in illegal acts.
On Thursday police said they had arrested about 106 youths aged 16 to 20 in a Nairobi estate during a drinking binge and arrested their host.
