Governor Muthomi Njuki denies charges in Sh34.9m corruption case

Tharaka-Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki and 17 other persons charged in a Sh34.9 million corruption case will spend another night in police cells pending a ruling on their bail application on Wednesday.

They were charged with 16 offences on Tuesday, following an investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) into allegations of an irregular waste incinerator tender.

Four companies are also in court over the matter, bring the total number of accused parties to 21.

All the parties denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi.

Mr Ogoti remanded the accused to Kileleshwa, Park Road and EACC police stations pending a ruling on Wednesday on their applications for release.

He said the court has to consider the circumstances of each accused person, the charges leveled by the State and the amount involved. Since the charges and the amounts involved are different, the bail terms will vary.

Defence requests

Mr Ogoti declined a request by the governor’s lawyer Paul Nyamodi to unconditionally release him and the others ahead of the bail ruling.

He further declined the lawyer’s request to grant bail terms only and deliver the other details of the ruling on Wednesday.

In urging the court to release the accused, Mr Nyamodi submitted that they are not flight risks as they surrendered to the EACC voluntarily.

The governor was charged alongside nine county government officers, his wife Margaret Mugweru and other relatives, nine county government officials, traders and four companies.

The court heard that two other accused persons identified as Kenneth Mucuiya and Caroline Wambui are spouses while another named Japheth Gitonga is their assistant and bank agent.

The accused jointly faced 16 counts relating to conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, abuse of office, failure to comply with procurement laws, money laundering, failure to pay taxes, conflict of interest and fraudulent practices in procurement.

Arguments

The prosecution did not oppose the bail application but asked the court to issue bail terms commensurate with the gravity of the offences.

“Economic crimes affect the economy. If found guilty the accused face a mandatory fine of Sh64 million. They also need to be prohibited from travelling outside the court’s jurisdiction,” said the three-member team led by Wesley Nyamache.

They also urged the court to bar the governor from accessing his office just like other county bosses facing graft trials.

Mr Nyamodi, who led a defence team of nine advocates, told the magistrate that bail terms should not be exorbitant as the purpose is to secure the accused persons’ court attendance.

“Bail is not a punishment but a right and should be reasonable,” he said.

The court is expected to deliver the ruling at 10am on Wednesday.