Saleh Wanjala, the man who hanged on a helicopter that was carrying the body of the slain businessman Jacob Juma on Friday last week was on Wednesday charged at a Bungoma court.
He will face legal action on crimes of willingly and negligently impairing the safety of the aircraft and those on board.
The Bungoma law courts on Wednesday charged Saleh, 43, for risking the lives of the occupants of the aircraft.
On May 13, the accused hanged on the helicopter registration number 5YTXM captained by Emmanuel Siburai at Posta grounds.
Saleh, whose photos went viral and even nicknamed "Bungoma James Bond", was charged alongside three other youths who were not before the court.
Principal magistrate Stephen Mungote said that the action of the accused caused the pilot of the plane to land abruptly at the regions' airstrip.
He denied the charges.
Saleh's lawyer Douglas Ombagi asked the court to give his client a free bond and allow him to go for medication before the case continues.
The lawyer said his client was still unwell.
Saleh, who went to court on a wheel chair, had sustained serious injuries on his head, pelvic bone and had broken his limbs.
Judge Mungote granted the appeal and ordered Saleh, who hails from Mashambani area in the outskirts of Bungoma, to go for treatment.
The case will be mentioned on Friday May 20.
Meanwhile, human rights activists in Bungoma have asked the State to set free the accused since "he did not do any offense".
Job Bwonya said that it was the responsibility of the police to offer maximum security to the plane so that residents cannot get to it.
"It was very unfair to arrest this man because it was the negligence of police who failed to secure the aircraft that particular day," Bwonya said.
"There was no single police at the venue. We are wondering if this was because Jacob was a supporter of the Opposition,’’ he said.
Bwonya said that as human rights activists, they will assign Saleh a lawyer and ensure he is set free.
The Star has learnt that Saleh was among a group of ten youths who had been selected to carry Juma's body once it was offloaded from the aircraft for public viewing.
However, the viewing did not take place following crowd trouble.
Rowdy youths made it difficult for the casket to be offloaded and had to be transported to Juma's home in Mungore village
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
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