MP Manduku Sh1.4b corruption trial now to proceed next week

The Sh1.4 billion corruption case against Nyaribari Masaba MP Daniel Manduku will proceed on April 4.

The case was filed against Manduku when he was the Kenya Ports Authority managing director in 2019.

He was accused of engaging in a project without prior planning, willful failure to comply with applicable laws, procedures and guidelines relating to procurement and abuse of office.

Anti-corruption court yesterday ordered that the case proceeds without further delay.

Case was scheduled for hearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile but it could not proceed because Manduku was said to be sick.

His co-accused; Juma Chigulu was, however, present in court.

The court was informed that Manduku has been given five days off bed rest by a doctor at the Kisii County Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Prosecution, however, told the court that it was ready to proceed with the hearing with two witnesses who travelled all the way from Mombasa ready to testify.

Magistrate, however, allowed the defence’s application for adjournment. He ordered the case to proceed on April 4 without further delay.

Manduku and Chigulu have since denied the charges.

Health risk

Last year, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), through Senior State Prosecutor Eva Kanyuira, had told the court that they will seek to prove that Manduku’s actions caused the State to lose Sh1.4 billion.

“This is a case of clear misuse of public office through deliberate violation of procurement process, laws, rules and regulations,” Kanyuira said.

Manduku and Chigulu are charged with offences under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Offences Act.

The acts were allegedly committed at KPA headquarters in Mombasa between March 29 and August 22, 2019.

The DPP said the case relates to the procurement of the manufacture of concrete barriers with a contractual sum of Sh1,420,730,721.81.

The project was not within the KPA’s approved budget for the 2018/19 financial year and had not been planned for by the port’s authority.