Finland scholarship scam: Star witness Mercy Tarus escapes contempt of court punishment
The Nakuru Magistrate's Court on Friday warned Mercy Tarus, the star witness in the Finland scholarship saga, against making comments that undermine the authority of the court.
Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Alloys Ndege ordered Ms Tarus to desist from making statements in the mainstream or social media that tend to scandalise the ongoing trial before the court.
This comes after the court found Ms Tarus guilty of contempt of court following numerous comments and statements she made on various media platforms.
The court noted that the allegations of contempt had been exposed and proved to the satisfaction of the court through Ms Tarus' allegations.
However, she escaped punishment after the court accepted her apologies, in which she stated that she was not aware that her comments amounted to contempt of court.
“The apologies given by the subject herein, that is Mercy Tarus, have been accepted but with serious warning that I have given herein,” the magistrate ruled.
The ruling followed complaints by lawyers representing Senator Jackson Mandago (former governor), who claimed Ms Tarus' comments were prejudicial to the ongoing proceedings.
Mr Mandago has been charged alongside two other people with conspiracy to misappropriate Sh1 billion.
The lawyers successfully applied for a summons to be issued to Ms Tarus to appear and show cause why she should not be cited for contempt.
When she appeared in court, she was shown a number of video clips in which she was alleged to have made the comments.
The clips included one in which she claimed in an interview that Senator Mandago was unfit to chair the Senate Committee on Health after allegations that he had stolen students' fees in the scholarship programme.
In another clip, she claims that she will ensure that the senator is jailed.
There was also another post on X (former Twitter) where she claimed that the people who embezzled the funds belonged to the county.
However, Ms Tarus defended herself by pointing out that she had not directly named the people in question.
But after being pressed by Mr Mandago's lawyers, Ms Tarus apologised and asked the court to forgive her.
"I hold this court in high regard and wish to apologise for any comments that may have shown disrespect to the court," said Ms Tarus.
In its ruling, the court warned anyone exercising their constitutional rights not to violate the rights of others or undermine the rights of other constitutional institutions.
"I give a clear warning that any wilful conduct of expression towards the case hearing that can be interpreted to fall within the provisions of Section 10(4) of the magistrates Act should be avoided by all individuals and institutions such as media outlets and journalists," ruled Mr Ndege.
Ms Tarus is one of the witnesses listed in the charge sheet and a victim of the botched Uasin Gishu County Overseas Education Scholarship programme.
The prosecution has called at least 202 witnesses, 32 of whom have testified.
Hearings will resume on December 2, 3 and 4.
