Former Finance Minister Chris Okemo (right) and former Kenya Power boss Samuel Gichuru during the mention of an extradition case against them at a Nairobi court on February 28, 2013.
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Okemo, Gichuru in fresh trouble over jersey case
The Director of Public Prosecutions has asked a Nairobi court to summon former Cabinet minister Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power boss Samuel Gichuru for the resumption of their extradition case.
The two are wanted by the Royal Court of Jersey in the United Kingdom for accepting bribes from foreign companies that were doing business with the Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) during President Daniel Moi’s regime.
The DPP has asked the chief magistrate’s court in Milimani, Nairobi, to order the two to appear in court on December 2, 2021, when the case will be mentioned after stalling for 10 years.
“We have already located the file and served the letter on the advocates of the accused persons – Fred Ngatia, Waweru Gatonye and Ogeto Otachi. We are now waiting for the court to issue summons,” special public prosecutor Taib Ali Taib said yesterday.
Mr Taib was hired by the DPP from private practice to deal with high-profile complex criminal cases.
Legal challenges
The extradition proceedings against Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru were halted in 2011 due to legal challenges. There was also a dispute between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Attorney-General on which state office should oversee the extradition process.
The dispute escalated up to the Supreme Court, where judges ruled that extradition proceedings should be initiated by the DPP and not the Attorney-General.
Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru face a jail term of up to 14 years each if found guilty of the alleged graft offences.
They are accused of money laundering and "concealing or transferring proceeds of crime", an offence that attracts a maximum of 14 years in jail or to a fine, or both, according to the Jersey law.
Mr Okemo is charged in the Royal Court of Jersey with 13 counts relating to transactions in accounts committed in the Island of Jersey under Jersey law between July 1, 1999 and 2001.
On the other hand, Gichuru is charged in the same court with 40 counts of offences also allegedly committed in the Island of Jersey between 1991 and June 28, 2002.
The warrants for the arrest of the two were issued in April 2010 while the request for their extradition was received on June 6, 2011 by the Attorney-General of Kenya on behalf of the government.
A summary of evidence alleged that they hid the money in hard currency estimated at more than Sh1 billion in secret accounts in Jersey.
The two are also accused of causing foreign contractors to make payments into the bank accounts of a Jersey company called Windward Trading Limited.
UK authorities claimed Mr Gichuru used Winward Trading Limited in Jersey, from where the money was channeled to his personal accounts.
The amounts being investigated include $1.3 million to Gichuru’s personal accounts, as well as $5.5 million, $ 5.4 million and 1 million Danish Kroner to Winward.
Mr Okemo served as Energy minister and Finance minister at different times during the Moi regime while Mr Gichuru was the Managing Director of KPLC between November 1984 and February 2013. The firm was under the Ministry of Energy.
It is alleged Mr Gichuru was the beneficial owner of the Jersey company, which he controlled using agents.
The money paid to the bank account of the company was allegedly distributed according to the instructions given by Gichuru’s agents, including to the personal accounts of Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru in Jersey.
