Lawyers representing three main suspects in the murder of Dr. Victoria Mutiso have withdrawn from the case following a disagreement with their clients.Defense lawyers Danstan Omari and Cliff Ombeta told the High Court in Nairobi on Tuesday, September 29, that they no longer wished to represent the accused persons.According to the lawyers, they had come to court prepared to argue the bail applications but encountered issues that they said had not formed part of the strategy agreed with their clients."Our intention was very good, it was very bona fide, for the purposes of getting our clients on board as early as possible. We wanted to do the bail application today," the lawyers stated.However, upon reaching the court, additional allegations and issues were introduced, including claims of torture, bribery and tribalism, which they had not previously discussed with their clients as part of the bail application."We walk into court knowing that today is a bail application, but another application that has been filed today tries to bring about a bail application, whereby the state looks at it, says that they have got issues that have been raised that are very weighty. There are allegations of bribery, there are allegations of torture," the lawyers added.According to the lawyers, the withdrawal was driven by the best interests of their clients, disputing claims that they were looking for publicity in the case that has captured the attention of the wider public."We don't do it for the sake of money or publicity. We are not interested in that. It is in the best interest of the client. And if we are not going to agree, the best interest of the client right now was that we withdraw," the lawyers said.Following their application to stop representing the accused, Omari, Ombeta, and other legal minds were allowed by the court to cease acting for the three accused persons after the suspects did not object to their withdrawal.The three suspects are accused together with two police officers of coordinating, planning and executing Mutiso's murder on July 29.During the court session on Tuesday, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty of he charges, with the judge setting October 6 for the hearing of the bail application.The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) was also given three days to file and serve an affidavit responding to the bail application.Dr Victoria Mutiso, a prominent clinical psychologist, was killed in Nairobi on July 29, after her taxi was ambushed at a road junction by armed attackers on a motorcycle and in a vehicle; a gunman opened fire, and she died shortly after at the hospital.Investigators have linked the killing to a long-running land dispute, allegedly orchestrated by relatives who hired hitmen, including police officers.
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