Prosecution hints at dropping charges against 14 in LBDA case
The Director of Public Prosecutions intends to withdraw charges against 14 accused persons in the Sh4.2 billion Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) mall scandal.
The new twist emerged yesterday when the matter against former Kisumu county assembly Speaker Onyango Oloo, former LBDA managing director Peter Aguko, Bobasi MP Innocent Obiri and 23 others came up for a pre-trial conference before Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti.
The prosecution, through senior state counsel James Kihara, sought to be granted more time, saying it was not ready to proceed with the pre-trial as it intends to drop charges against the 14 accused.
Sufficient directions
“We are about to drop charges against 14 accused persons in the case. We have written to my boss Noordin Haji to consider dropping the same accused persons and in about 10 days, we will give sufficient directions in the matter on whether we will withdraw the same or continue with the hearing of the matters with all the 26 accused persons,” said Kihara.
“I did communicate with the head of Economic Crimes at the DPP’s office who asked me to request the court for a little bit more time to get formal instructions over our intention to withdraw charges against the accused persons.”
Kihara did not, however, reveal the names of the 14 persons whose cases are likely to be dropped, saying the DPP was still consulting on the matter. He also declined to indicate whether the 14 will be made prosecution witnesses or not.
Oloo is accused of conspiring with the contractors including Zeyun Yang and Zhang Jing, directors of Edermann Property Limited, to defraud the public of billions of shillings.
Erdemann is accused of bribing Oloo, the then LBDA board chairman, with Sh17 million and other benefits including apartments and shops.
Oloo, Aguko, Obiri, Yang and Jing are charged alongside the authority’s board members, tender committee members and contractors, among other suspects.
They include Albert Ojango Omondi (Internal Auditor), Nelson Ouma Onyango (Production Technologist), Teresa Achieng’ Ochaka (former Supplies officer) and former board members Micheal Obora, Denis Sebastian Mulaa, John Nyera Mango, a director of the Chinese construction firm.
Contract variation
Oloo and Aguko are charged that between December 18 and 19, 2014 in Kisumu county, they improperly conferred a benefit of Sh1.3 billion to Erdemann by irregularly approving the variation of the contract for the LBDA lower Kanyakwar phase from Sh2.4 billion to Sh3.7 billion.
The accused were further charged that between January 12, 2013 and May 2, 2018, they conspired to defraud the authority of Sh667,275,202 in respect of a tender for construction, development and financing of a retail mall at Kanykwar, Kisumu.
The prosecutions say the accused conspired to inflate the cost of the project from Sh2.5 billion to Sh4.1 billion.
According to the charges the tender was awarded on March 14, 2013 with Aguko and Oyosi executing the agreement.
Erdemann’s directors Zhang Jing and Zeyun Yang executed the agreement on behalf of the company. Aguko and Oloo are further accused of executing three charges over LBDA’s land for Sh2.5 billion.
