Waluke and Wakhungu fight against conviction
Sirisia MP John Waluke (right) and his associate Grace Wakhungu during a past court session. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Waluke and Wakhungu filed appeals on July 2, two weeks before the window for challenging a magistrate’s court conviction and sentence closed.
- Last month, Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma convicted Waluke and Wakhungu and fined each of them Sh1 billion, or 67 years and 69 years – respectively – in jail.
The court battle waged by Sirisia MP John Waluke and his associate Grace Wakhungu against conviction is set to play out as they fight a combined Sh2 billion fine, whose default may see them spend the rest of their lives in jail.
Waluke and Wakhungu filed appeals on July 2, two weeks before the window for challenging a magistrate’s court conviction and sentence closed.
The EACC is seeking to introduce new evidence in the appeal that detectives say will prove that the two Erad Supplies and General Contractors Limited directors used forged documents to push for payments amounting to Sh314 million from the National Cereals and Produce Board.
Erad had in 2004 won a tender to supply 40,000 metric tonnes of maize, but the contract was cancelled. The company, then owned by Waluke, Wakhungu and deceased businessman Jacob Juma, claimed it had already imported maize and that it was entitled to compensation.
Erad Supplies was paid the sum in 2013 on the strength of an arbitrator’s award and court orders. The EACC found that invoices used by Erad to claim compensation were forged.
Last month, Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma convicted Waluke and Wakhungu and fined each of them Sh1 billion, or 67 years and 69 years – respectively – in jail.
The two argue in their appeals that Ms Juma failed to appreciate that the dispute was purely commercial and that there was no criminal culpability in the event of wrongdoing by any of the parties.
