Salasya Appears in One Case, Skips Another, Citing Paternity Leave
Mumias East MP Peter Salasya did not attend a civil case, citing his paternity leave, but he did appear in another case, a criminal one, where he managed to briefly postpone the hearing.
The newly elected Member of Parliament is currently being prosecuted in two separate cases.
The first case is taking place in the Mumias law courts, where he has pleaded not guilty to allegations of physically assaulting Peter Walunya, a Member of County Assembly, at a funeral.
The second case is being heard in Kakamega, where he is representing himself in a civil lawsuit for verbally assaulting lawyer Edwin Wafula, who is headquartered in Kakamega.
In the Mumias criminal case, Salasya appeared in court and successfully requested for the hearing to be expedited, anticipating that his lawyer would have made a full recovery by then.
Mumias Senior Resident Magistrate Marcella Amondi granted the request made by the Member of Parliament, who is currently released on a cash bond of Sh50,000.
The magistrate ordered that the case be mentioned in two weeks’ time in order to schedule a new hearing date.
A total of 17 lawyers are involved in the lawsuit against the Member of Parliament (MP) who is accused of slapping the Member of County Assembly (MCA) during a formal event, causing slight physical injury to the MCA’s face.
However, this was not the situation in Kakamega, where Principal Magistrate James Masiga proceeded with the civil matter even though the Member of Parliament (MP) was not present. At the time the file was called out, the MP had not provided a cause for his absence.
The court attempted to ascertain the presence of the defendant’s lawyer, both physically in the courtroom and virtually on the web platform.
However, no response was received, leading the court to proceed with the hearing in order to ensure swift delivery of justice.
In the lawsuit, Lawyer Edwin Wafula, who filed a defamation case against the Member of Parliament (MP) in late 2020, revealed the specific circumstances under which the MP had tarnished his reputation.
The individual stated that he initiated the legal action on November 3 of the previous year, demanding compensation for both general and punitive damages.
This was in response to derogatory remarks that were intended to harm his reputation, following his successful representation of a client in a dispute at the Kakamega Small Claims Court against Salasya.
He stated that since then, the Member of Parliament had turned hostile towards him and resorted to verbally attacking him, despite the fact that all he had done was provide legal representation to a client who approached his office.
“On November 2, 2023, at around 6 pm, I went to an establishment within Kakamega Town, Vovo, in the company of friends to have coffee when Salasya confronted me and verbally started hurling insults in Swahili,” he said.
The lawyer, who also seeks compensation from Salasya for the legal expenses, stated that the Member of Parliament persistently insulted others, leading the restaurant’s management to gently ask him to leave due to his disruption of the peaceful environment.
At approximately 7:30 pm on November 2, 2023, Wafula and his friends made the decision to move to another restaurant called Vault in Kakamega Town. However, the MP once again interrupted him with another series of slanderous Swahili remarks.
The lawyer expressed deep concern over the consequences of the statements, which have tarnished his image and could potentially jeopardise his 15-year-long career.
In the case heard on Tuesday morning, the magistrate granted lawyer Derek Mango permission to submit final written arguments within a period of seven days in preparation for the judgement, as there was no opposition to the case.
Later that day, Mango received an email from Salasya’s lawyer, who informed him that he was aware of the ongoing case but apologised for his client’s absence due to leave.
“Good afternoon counsel (Mango). Whereas I am aware that this matter has a hearing date, the undersigned (Salasya) is on paternity leave and will not be able to proceed. I shall seek an adjournment on the above ground,” said the lawyer.
The matter will be brought up on March 19 to verify the progress of submitting the final argument before to the verdict.
In Other News: Tension Heigh After Edwin Sifuna Abruptly Reshuffles ODM Leaders
Salasya Appears in One Case, Skips Another, Citing Paternity Leave
