All 43 NYS suspects remanded as court denies them bail

All 43 suspects charged over the multi-billion scandal at the National Youth Service (NYS) will remain in remand prison until their case is heard and determined.

This is after Anti-Corruption court Magistrate Douglas Ogoti denied them bail noting that the suspects are charged with Economic Crimes which are serious offences.

“It is the opinion of the court that it can lead to anarchy, threat to peace and national security.This in itself is a compelling reason why bail should and is hereby denied,” ruled Ogoti

The suspects include Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Lillian Mbogo-Omollo and National Youth Service (NYS) Director General Richard Ndubai.

In his ruling, Magistrate Ogoti noted that the charges are serious and they can cause loss of financial health of a country.

The court noted that the blunder of public loss also leads to denial of fundamental rights and denies the citizens the right to good health, food and leads to death.

The magistrate further noted that the charges pose a great threat to peace, adding that this is a compelling reason to deny the accused persons bail.

During the hearing of the bail application, the Director of Public Prosecution counsels had argued that the accused persons if released on bail, are likely to interfere with investigations, evidence and witnesses in the case and should therefore not be granted bail.

Led by lawyer Cliff Ombeta, the defense lawyers told the court that the charges pressed against the accused persons are bail-able adding that bail is a constitutional right.

They were first arraigned in court on Tuesday, May 29 for a marathon court session that lasted nearly 12 hours. The court detained them  pending the determination of their bail, which has now been declined.