![Watch AG Dorcas Oduor Lash Out At LSK Lawyers During Masengeli Hearing [VIDEO]](https://i0.wp.com/bouncenationkenya.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Watch-AG-Dorcas-Oduor-Lash-Out-At-LSK-Lawyers-During.jpg?fit=870%2C580&ssl=1 "Watch AG Dorcas Oduor Lash Out At LSK Lawyers During")
One of the LSK lawyers could be heard ordering Oduor to sit down, a matter which infuriated her.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor on Friday, September 20 clashed with lawyers from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi where Deputy Inspector General of Police, Gilbert Masengeli had gone to present himself in a bid to have his six-month jail sentence overturned.
In a video seen by Viral Tea, the AG could be seen rising sharply from her seat in response to inaudible remarks by LSK lawyers including Nelson Havi and Dan Maanzo. One of the LSK lawyers could be heard ordering Oduor to sit down, a matter which infuriated her.
“You must respect people, why the drama? We are all adults…why don’t you go out and listen to the press? It is so rude…,” said a visibly upset Oduor before South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro moved in to calm her down.
Here is the video:
AG Dorcas Oduor clashes with LSK Lawyers amid DIG Gilbert Masengeli’s hearing. She is representing the convicted DIG pic.twitter.com/rBpxpEQz6B
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) September 20, 2024
Masengeli had finally appeared at the court accompanied by his lawyers and South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro. He is seeking to overturn his sentence after he was found guilty of contempt of court after failing to appear at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi up to seven times.
In his defence, Oduor cited numerous assignments that Masengeli was engaged in at the time the summons were issued, assignments she argued were matters of national security that could not be left unattended.
“When orders of August 26th were served on August 29th, Mr Masengeli, as the acting IG, was in Lamu for official duties. When the matter was mentioned on September 5th, he was still engaged in security operations in the Coast region. On the 13th of September, when he was sentenced for contempt of court, he was in Marsabit County coordinating security operations,” she revealed.
“It has been wildly but incorrectly alleged that the summons issued by the court were either ignored or defied by Gilbert Masengeli. This is further from the truth because every time his attendance was required, he was disabled from doing so by pressing exigencies of duty out of Nairobi.”
According to the AG, it was “not just a simple instance of a clash of loyalties; rather, it is a case of a security official caught on the horns of a dilemma in the midst of a serious and delicate security emergency. In such circumstances, it is easy for one to gravitate toward national security operations over personal tribulations.”
Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the ruling on September 13, 2024, stating that Masengeli could avoid imprisonment by appearing in court within seven days to address the issues he had neglected.
On September 20, 2024, Masengeli submitted an affidavit to the High Court, apologizing for his previous absences and acknowledging his contempt of court.
In the affidavit, he expressed remorse for not attending court hearings related to the disappearance of three individuals, citing operational challenges in security operations as the reason for his absence.
“I humbly apologize to this Honourable Court for breaking orders and undertaking to comply in the future. The non-attendance in court, however, was not intentional but rather due to operational challenges,” he said in the affidavit.
When Masengeli was found guilty, Judge Mugambi on Monday, September 9 ruled that the interim police boss held the court at ransom and ought to be punished accordingly. According to the ruling, Masengeli must abide by the Constitution being a public official.
Masengeli had instead sent his Deputy Eliud Lagat, the Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service, to represent him at the High Court to answer for the disappearance of two siblings and an activist in Kitengela Town.
