Laban Cliff Onserio Stares At Being Fired From Standard Media Group

Standard Media Group (SMG) Chief of Staff Laban Cliff Onserio risks losing his job at the Mombasa Road-based media house after he was arrested on December 18, 2022, for being in possession of an explosive.

Viral Tea has established that the journalist was denied access to the company's premises as well as being locked out of official emails and removed from all WhatsApp groups.

Onserio arrived at the SMG office on Monday, January 9 after he was released on bail, having been arrested after he was discovered with the explosive, a grenade, at the Holy Family Basilica parking lot.

His access card was blocked from opening the door and upon inquiry from a security guard, he was told to reach out to his supervisor, who is Group CEO Orlando Lyomu.

He was said to have contacted Lyomu but he could not reach him, a matter that made him resort to leaving the building and returning home.

While sources state that he was not informed of what was happening, or why the media house decided to take drastic steps against the senior journalist, they claim that a plot was underway to kick him out of office before he takes plea.

Onserio on Tuesday, January 10 filed a request to have his case settled out of court. Through his lawyer Ishmael Nyaribo, the journalist wrote to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) seeking an alternative to prosecution.

“The matter is coming up for plea-taking. The accused through his counsel wrote to ODPP to consider an alternative to prosecution. We are considering the request and we need a week to take a decision on the request,” The prosecution team led by Jillo Guyo told Kahawa Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa.

The court also pushed the mention of his case to January 18, 2023.

Onserio is out on cash bail of Ksh100,000 pending his plea-taking on criminal charges. Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa also gave him an alternative of depositing a bond of Ksh300,000.

While pleading with the court to grant him cash bail or bond, Onserio said that he had spent over 14 days in police custody and he wished to deposit security so that he can join his family in celebrating the New Year holiday.

Onserio is said to have written to SMG management apologising for the events that unfolded, even as SMG noted that it was awaiting the results of the investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and would abide by the due process of the law.