MATTERS ALCOLBLOW AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
By George Kimando via Facebook
About three months ago, Jane Njiru was arrested on alleged drunk driving. As all the co-accused chorused ‘guilty’ in court, she pleaded ‘not guilty’. Now, the prosecution has withdrawn the charges against her, and this forms the basis of this awareness.
She says, “They had zero evidence against me and once they knew mimi ni wakili and I had a lawyer too Opere Ferdinand Kamau, they would have stood zero chances. That said, I think other factors worked for me.
Those guys know that they cannot obtain a conviction on the evidence of that ka-slip they give you. They needed to now go and write statements (who would have remembered circumstances of my arrest especially when I didnt cause any drama), compile a police file, provide evidence including calibrations of the gadget, and worse still explain to me and the court why they would charge me based on alcoblow which the law states is a preliminary test to determine whether a person is so drunk as not be in control of a motor-vehicle. They also got my names wrong, my car number plates wrong and I wanted them to explain who between me and them was drunk”.
Which leads me to a heightened position of what have been my concern of late. We are too policed to a point of imprisonment in our ‘freedom’. We let the government and it’s agencies constrict us too much. Our civil liberties are slowly but surely being eroded and fed to the dogs. And much of these issues arise from our ignorance of the law, and our ever haste of accepting and moving on.
Am calling on legal minds like Jane Njiru, Donald Rabala, Donald B. Kipkorir, Wahome Thuku, Elias Masika, Al Simiyu Murambi and others to consider forming an online awareness forum on public legal education.
Change starts with you and me, by doing our little bit, one day at a time. And this country needs change, like yesterday; we are late by a day.
Cc: Jane Njiru, Donald Rabala, Donald B. Kipkorir, Wahome Thuku, Elias Masika, Al Simiyu Murambi, et al
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