Javan Riaga

🇰🇪| LLB ⚖️| Adventist| @mancity

[Javan Riaga @javanriaga]

It's coming home ...

[femiiiiii. @femiiiszn]

i'm both a perfectionist and a procrastinator, so i'm constantly stressed about the quality of something i haven't even started.

[femiiiiii. @femiiiszn]

"i just need to get through this week" - me every single week.

[Jakochia Esq @Esq_Dalmas_J]

Advocates who undercharge bore me. Shame on you! You're the reason why Advocates are poor and living under hand to mouth.

Here I am nimepata client who needs Power of Attorney duly registered under RDA, Statutory Declaration and Tenancy Agreement and I quote my fees!

The client: Venye wee ni mdogo. What did you want to do with over kshs 100,000? I have senior Advocates who doe this work for 30k.

Me: 🙄

[Javan Riaga @javanriaga]

@WaihenyaJW Thanks 🙏🏼

[Cecil Yongo @CecilYongo]

The solution is often to read more, and read in full, and read a lot

[Citizen TV Kenya @citizentvkenya]

“Mimi nimetosha!” ODM leader Oburu says he is ready to be President Ruto’s running mate in 2027

[obxnetflix @obxnetflix]

WAKE UP IT'S BOAT SHOW MONTH

[Jacqueline Wanjiku Waihenya @WaihenyaJW]

📢Can Circumstantial Evidence Alone Be Enough to Convict for Murder?📌

On 23rd July 2026, Justice C.W. Githua convicted former Migori Governor Zacharia Okoth Obado, his aide Michael Juma Oyamo, and clerical officer Caspal Ojwang Obiero of murdering Sharon Otieno.

What makes this judgment instructive is not the facts, which are by now widely known, but the legal reasoning the court applied to convict on a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence, with not a single witness placing any accused at the scene.

The court applied the settled test from Sawe v Republic: for circumstantial evidence to sustain a conviction, the inculpatory facts must be incompatible with innocence and incapable of explanation on any hypothesis other than guilt, forming a chain complete enough to exclude any other reasonable possibility.

The court also reaffirmed, citing the Supreme Court in Republic v Ahmad Abdolfadhi Mohammed, that circumstantial evidence is not inherently inferior to direct testimony; its strength lies in the reasonableness of the inferences it supports.

On motive, the court applied Section 9(3) of the Penal Code and the Court of Appeal's holding in Robert Onchiri Ogeto v Republic that motive is not an essential ingredient of murder, though it remains relevant corroborative evidence, particularly in circumstantial cases.

On Malice aforethought, the court held as established under Section 206 of the Penal Code through the accumulated pattern of preparation, concealment, and planning rather than any single act.

On joint liability, the court applied the doctrine of common intention under Section 21 of the Penal Code as interpreted in Njoroge v Republic, holding that an express agreement need not be proved and that common design may be inferred from conduct, presence and participation before, during and after the offence, however minimal any one participant's individual role.

This allowed the court to convict the Governor despite an alibi placing him elsewhere at the time of the killing, since liability under common intention does not turn on who physically commits the act but on whether the accused acted in concert to achieve a shared unlawful purpose.

The court further invoked Section 111(1) of the Evidence Act to shift the evidential burden onto the accused to explain facts especially within their own knowledge, such as the content of calls made at critical hours and when they failed to do so, the court drew adverse inferences against them.

On the separate murder charge concerning the unborn child, the court applied the born-alive principle codified in Section 214 of the Penal Code, correctly holding that a foetus which dies in utero does not qualify as a "person" capable of being murdered under Section 203, and acquitted all three accused on that count.

This judgement affirms the weight of circumstantial evidence in criminal matters and the fact that circumstantial evidence can still meet the ever high standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt.

What are your thoughts on this decision, colleagues?

#JSC001

[🥷 @_iamhabeeb]

Resist the urge to prove you’re doing better than other people. It’s unnecessary

[jaramogisversion💋 @AkothMelanie]

At your lowest,the dj will play Nyaduse,na you'll be alright 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

[Thairu @Allformsof_ART]

Mumefanyia nini Moviebox aki mbona inaniitisha 78 shillings 😭

[$oji @Olamitisoji]

New intern hurriedly putting his phone away as I walked by. Bro, relax… I’m an intern too 😭

[Dr Gacikira 🕹️ @gacikiraMD]

Unpopular opinion;

Parents raising a child with Disability should be exempted from paying taxes.

[AJ @Ajmetax]

Happy new month everyone

[Ole Teya @TeyaKevin]

New Gor Mahia striker Denis Omedi had his goal nominated for Puskas.

[Ahmednasir Abdullahi SC @ahmednasirlaw]

Just shut up! Tell Kenyans why JurisPESA flourished under your tenure. Tell them what you will do to address the cancer of JurisPESA in our courts....when u answer the two questions I will then read your rebuttal.

[Uncle Michael @Ankule_III]

Edwin Sifuna

[Smurf 🧚🏻‍♀️ @Smurf_Nita]

Kamande is really the OG of cereals. Nobody argue with me.