Reasons Why Babu Owino Was Acquitted In DJ Evolve's Case: "Scanty And Conflicting Evidence"

• The magistrate called out the prosecution and investigating officers for doing a shoddy job and presenting weak evidence for the charges they had levelled against the MP
• According to the magistrate, the investigating officer acknowledged that the cartridge case and bullet presented in the court did not match
• The prosecution also failed to prove that the injuries Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve sustained were inflicted by Babu Owino, with the court saying it could not rely on a soundless video

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has been acquitted of charges of being disorderly while handling a firearm.

Babu Owino acquitted in DJ Evolve's case

The case involved the shooting of Felix Orinda Odhiambo, alias DJ Evolve, who was shot in the neck on January 17, 2020, an incident that has left him largely immobile.

On Tuesday, August 29, Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi acquitted the MP on the grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case.

Ochoi was particular that the investigations were shoddy, making the prosecution's case weak.

Reasons why Babu Owino was not jailed

This is despite the prosecution lining up 10 witnesses, including waiters, security personnel manager and revellers at B Club where the incident that haunted Babu Owino occurred.

Here are some of the reasons the magistrate cited while delivering the judgement setting the MP free.

1. No proof Babu Owino shot DJ Evolve

None of the witnesses lined up testified that Babu behaved disorderly while at the club.

The prosecution did a shoddy job to prove that Babu caused the injury DJ Evolve sustained.

"The court cannot be left to rely on a video that was played. The video had no sound. In the video the accused was seen pointing something black facing the other side and someone fell," read the magistrate.

2. Victim turned to witness

Felix Orinda aka DJ Evolve, was supposed to be a State witness but did not record a statement.

"The victim turned to be a key witness for the defense," the court acknowledged.

Another shoddy area of investigation was that the investigating officer stated that he did not collect the bullet picked by someone who did not testify in court.

"The investigations by police officers were shoddy as they failed to cover crucial areas," the magistrate stated.

The magistrate was surprised that DJ Evolve was not Prosecution Witness No 1.

"The investigation officer stated that he did not record a statement from him. One wonders whether it was negligence or deliberate," Ochoi said.

3. Scanty evidence

Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi said the prosecution failed to record the key witness's statement and that the ballistic evidence produced in court was too scanty to be relied upon to convict the MP.

He said the prosecution failed to convince the court that the MP was involved in the shooting.

Also, the prosecution didn't produce a medical report regarding the samples and swabs that were taken at the scene of the crime on January 17, 2020.

4. Conflicting evidence

The magistrate pointed out that even the ballistic expert who testified in the court admitted in his evidence that the bullet and cartridge case that were recovered at the scene of the crime did not match.

"The Investigating Officer confessed that he was the one who recovered the bullet cartridge case and bullet and he could not recall who did collected them. Why did he not avail the person who recovered the bullet head and cartridge to testify?"

" If it was recovered on wall as claimed, was it not necessary for ballistic expert to visit the scene and adduce evidence? Was it not necessary to provide medical evidence to show that the bullet exited from the body of Evolve and landed on the wall?" The magistrate posed.

5. No evidence for drunk and disorderly conduct

The court also concluded that the State failed to produce enough evidence to prove disorderly conduct.

"There should have been a blood sample taken for alcohol content. None of the prosecution witness spoke on status of Babu on whether he was drunk or not."

The court indicated that the Investigating Officer's (IO) samples did not show that he desired to know the alcoholic content in Babu's blood.

"In the absence of blood tests and results, the prosecution didn't establish aspect of drunkenness," the magistrate ruled.

Babu said that the judgement had gone the way God wanted it to go and said that his victory would come when DJ Evolve, someone he describes as his close friend, could stand and walk on his own.