Milimani Magistrate Court has struck out an application seeking search warrants against former Raphael Tuju, citing insufficient legal basis and lack of evidence linking him to a suspected offence.
The application, brought under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code, empowers courts to issue search warrants where there is reasonable suspicion that evidence connected to a crime may be found in a specified location.
Upon reviewing the application, supporting affidavit, and grounds presented, the magistrate found significant gaps in the prosecution’s case. The investigation was largely based on a suspected false report recorded under Occurrence Book (OB) No. 17/22/03/2026, made by a third party—not Tuju.
The court also noted submissions that Tuju may have filed a separate report at a police station. However, the application failed to provide details or particulars of that alleged report, leaving the court without sufficient material to assess its relevance or legality.
The magistrate emphasized that the threshold for issuing a search warrant requires clear, specific, and credible evidence linking the subject to a suspected offence. In this case, the court found no evidence of Tuju committing any offence, including giving false information to a public officer under Section 129(a) of the Penal Code.
“In the circumstances, it is only in the interest of justice that the application be struck out,” the court ruled, highlighting that granting the warrant would have constituted an unjustified intrusion into Tuju’s privacy.
