Blow to Sonko as court declines to stop his graft case
The Court on Tuesday dismissed an application by Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko to stop his prosecution in Sh 357 million graft case.
Milimani chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti directed Sonko and his 16 co-accused persons to answer to the new charges filed in court by the prosecution.
Sonko and his co-accused through their lawyers led by Cecil Miller and Paul Nyamondi have urged the court to withdraw theircCase under section 87(a) of the CPC to enable the DPP put their house in order.
This is after it emerged that the prosecution is not ready for the pretrial today three months after Sonko and others were charged.
State counsel Christine Nanjala, however, sought to be given more time to comply with the earlier orders of the court over disclosure.
Defence lawyers say the disclosure should be done at the earliest time possible to enable them prepare their defence.
"That the prosecution is not ready for this trial and therefore discharge the accused persons until such a time the Director Publication Prosecutions (DPP) is ready to proceed by supplying and disclosing all evidence to the defence," says lawyer Tom Ojienda.
The magistrate says that the prosecution has held the court and the accused persons at ransom by failing to comply with the directives.
