{"id":119123,"date":"2025-08-01T10:08:31","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/08\/01\/judge-makes-police-officers-to-buy-bread-and-toiletries-for-remandees-to-purge-contempt\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:08:31","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:08:31","slug":"judge-makes-police-officers-to-buy-bread-and-toiletries-for-remandees-to-purge-contempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/judge-makes-police-officers-to-buy-bread-and-toiletries-for-remandees-to-purge-contempt\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge makes police officers to buy bread and toiletries for remandees to purge contempt"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 \u2013 Four police officers who skipped a scheduled hearing at Kibera Law Courts were handed an unusual punishment \u2014 buying bread, milk, and toiletries for remandees \u2014 in a move that drew laughter in court<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Judge Rachel Kavedza ordered four police officers to present bread, soap, and toilet paper for the remandees during a court session on Thursday .<\/p>\n

The officers had been scheduled to testify against their colleague, Ahmed Rashid, who is facing charges for allegedly shooting two young men. <\/p>\n

But only one of the five officers scheduled top appear showed up for the hearing.<\/p>\n

The visibly frustrated judge condemned the officers\u2019 absence, describing their failure to testify as a violation of the accused person\u2019s right to a fair trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no need for you to bring me accused persons if you can\u2019t testify, because lack of testimony violates their right,\u201d she remarked.<\/p>\n

While she accepted apologies from the absentees, Justice Kavedza ruled that leniency alone was not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I have five people from prison,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cEach one of you will buy a roll of toilet paper and bath soap for the five. Go and bring \u2014 that is the punishment you pay for not coming to court.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge vacated three-month jail terms with an alternative of Sh10,000 fine that each officer faced for the contempt.<\/p>\n

Activist spared after court outburst <\/h3>\n

In a separate drama a day earlier, the same courtroom witnessed a heated moment when human rights activist Muringa Matati interrupted proceedings during the murder trial of Albert Ojwang by shouting demands for the arrest of one Eliud Lagat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe demand the arrest of Eliud Lagat. The High Court must stop protecting Lagat!\u201d Matati yelled before attempting to leave.<\/p>\n

Judge Kavedza, unfazed by the interruption, ordered him back into the courtroom and demanded he address the court properly.<\/p>\n

\u201cApologize for your conduct or else you are going to the cells. You have misconducted yourself,\u201d she told him.<\/p>\n

Matati, who identified himself as an unaffiliated activist, complied and issued an apology, which the judge accepted \u2014 but not without a stern warning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ever do that again in my court, trust me, I\u2019m putting you in the cells. I have forgiven you. Do not dare do that again,\u201d she cautioned.<\/p>\n

The two incidents have drawn attention to Justice Kavedza\u2019s firm but unconventional approach to maintaining order and accountability in her courtroom, highlighting her insistence on discipline \u2014 not only for the accused but also for officers of the law and members of the public appearing in court.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 \u2013 Four police officers who skipped a scheduled hearing at Kibera Law Courts were handed an unusual punishment \u2014 buying bread, milk, and toiletries for remandees \u2014 in a move that drew laughter in court. Judge Rachel Kavedza ordered four police officers to present bread, soap, and toilet paper for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119123\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}