In courts: Body by Design owners back in court for bond ruling

Wheels of Justice: Court stories lined up for today.

Proprietors of a city clinic and a doctor who works at the facility will today return to court hoping to be released from remand on bond terms after being in custody for two weeks now.

Surgeon Robert Mutula was charged alongside Omnicare Medical Limited also known as Body by Design owners George Njoroge and Lillian Edna Winjiru with manslaughter charges on April 2.

They denied the charges before Kibera senior Principal Magistrate Samson Temu.

The following day, the court ruled it required a probation report to help it decide on whether to grant the accused persons bond and the appropriate terms.

Temu in directing for the probation report to be prepared said the various arguments made by both the state for denial of bond and the defence in favour of granting bond had left the two parties far apart hence the need for the court to better understand the matter.

He said the court required a pre-bail report to guide it on the bond decision so as to balance the rights of both the victims and the accused persons.

"I thus order the probation officer to prepare a pre-bail report that will balance the rights of both parties and guide the court on bond ruling and terms," Temu said.

The magistrate directed that the report be availed in court on or before April 15, 2025.

Today, the parties return to court for further directions.

If the probation report is ready, the magistrate could make his ruling on bond.

In the meantime, the court had directed that the accused be remanded at the Industrial Area prison and Langata Women's Prison respectively.

The charges against Mutula, George and Wanjiru stem from allegations of a botched cosmetic surgery linked to the death of businesswoman Lucy Wambui.

Wambui died in October 2024 from complications after a surgical procedure. The social media influencer underwent cosmetic surgery at Omnicare Medical Clinic and was discharged on October 18.

The clinic is co-owned by George Wakaria and Edna Wanjiru who are husband and wife.

The Director of Public Prosecutions through senior prosecution counsel Victor Owiti has opposed their release on bond.

Owiti said the accused persons being the owners of the facility, were the employers of witnesses lined up to testify.

"As such, they are likely to interfere with the witnesses if released on bond," Owiti said.

Owiti said the likelihood of interfering with witnesses was a compelling reason to deny bond.

He said the charge of manslaughter was so serious with a possible sentence of life imprisonment hence the seriousness of the matter.