Court acquits two for lack of evidence

Two men have been acquitted due to lack of evidence linking them to transporting three tonnes of sandalwood worth Ksh 3 million without a permit from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Maralal Court’s Principal Magistrate Charles Ndegwa said the sandalwood that was allegedly being transported by the accused, Fredrick Lemetiki and Abdnasir Mustafa, was not produced before court as exhibit.

In his ruling, the Magistrate further said the lorry that was alleged to have been used for transporting the cargo  was found parked at Mr Lemetiki’s homestead but had no wood in it.

It was testified before court that the wood was found in a different place far away from where the lorry had been parked.

In addition, Ndegwa also noted that the two had been charged under the wrong section of the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act 2013.

“It is legally untenable to charge a person under section 92 of the act,” he said as he acquitted the accused under Section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The dual had been accused of committing the offence of transporting the endangered species without a permit from Director of KWS at Lpartuk area along Maralal-Baragoi road in Samburu central sub county.