DPP Noordin Haji to appeal Ksh588M graft suit facing Waititu
The Director of the Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji now intends to move to the Court of Appeal to challenge the High Court’s decision to quash the trial of five members of the Kiambu county government procurement committee over the Ksh588 million graft suit facing former governor Ferdinand Waititu.
The move by Haji comes after Justice Esther Maina on Thursday, October 6, 2022, declared illegal and unconstitutional the prosecution of the five procurement committee officials namely Zacharia Mbugua, Joyce Ngina, Simon Kang’ethe, Anslem Wanjiku, and Samuel Muigai.
While rendering judgment on their petition on the legality of their trial, Maina also declared that the prosecution of the five amounted to an abuse of the legal process.
She issued a declaration prohibiting the Milimani Anti-corruption Chief Magistrates Court and the DPP from sustaining, proceeding, hearing, conducting or in any manner dealing with the charges laid against the five petitioners, or instituting any other charges against them over the same subject matter.
As a result of the judgment, the DPP in a press statement said he is dissatisfied with the court’s finding and has initiated an appeal in the Court of Appeal.
“The Office of the DPP being dissatisfied with the decision of the High Court has initiated an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the whole of the decision and intends to proceed with the case against the other accused persons including Mr Waititu, which is still pending before the Chief Magistrate Court at Milimani Anti-Corruption Division,” Prosecutor Victor Mule, from DPP office, said.
The DPP further maintained that it is still pursuing a graft case against former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.
He stated that contrary to reports that the Ksh588 million graft case had been dropped, it would appeal the decision of the High Court prohibiting the prosecution of five accused persons in the case.
Case dropped
The DPP's clarification comes hours after it was reported that the case against the former county boss had been dropped.
Haji clarified that the decision to the prohibition by the High Court was issued after some of the accused members in the case moved to court to challenge the constitutionality of the case lodged before a Magistrate court.
The five procurement committee members had been charged alongside Waititu over the alleged irregular award of a Ksh588,198,328 road construction tender to Testimony Enterprise Ltd.
Others charged were Waititu’s wife, former County Chief Officer for Roads Luka Mwangi, six county employees, businessman Charles Chege and his wife Beth Wangechi.
