The commencement of the hearing of the case pitting 19 suspects charged with malicious damage of property and incitement to violence during a nuclear energy public participation session in Bondo has been postponed to September 15, 2026.
The suspects who appeared before Bondo Resident Magistrate Christabel Maiyo were informed of the postponement of their matter following the absence of Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti, who was designated to hear the case.
According to the court records, on July 24, 2026, at Ka John Center in Central Sakwa, 19 suspects, together with others not before court, willfully and unlawfully damaged the windscreens of motor vehicles: a Subaru Forester GKC 958 B (Subaru Forester (CCIO Siaya County)), an Isuzu Dmax GKB 442 Z (DCC Bondo), and a KCW 259 Y (Toyota Hillux) belonging to the NIS Department of National Intelligence Service (NIS) Siaya County, valued at over Sh 420,000.
The suspects also faced an additional count of incitement to violence after they unlawfully published placards with the message “Wadagi Nuclear” meaning we don’t want nuclear, and publicly called on passers-by to stone people from Ka John Center, an act which was calculated to lead to violence and damage of property.
The suspects are currently out on Sh15,000 cash bail or a Sh50,000 bond, which had previously been granted by a Bondo court after their charges were revised from terrorism to malicious damage of property and incitement to violence.
By Brian Ondeng
