Court dismisses Kideros plea to have graft case heard separately

Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero’s bid to have his graft case heard separately from that of his 10 co-accused persons has flopped.

Magistrate Douglas Ogoti on Monday dismissed the application noting that the court was not given sufficient reasons either by way of precedent or otherwise to give it necessary authority to discharge Kidero or any other accused persons from the trial.

“The upshot of the matter then is that having observed, this court finds that all the charges as preferred meet the threshold of the law in criminal pleadings, procedure and practice,” Ogoti said.

“Accordingly, the two applications are hereby disallowed and dismissed,” court ruled.

In the case, Kidero and former senior officials in his administration are facing charges of corruption and economic crimes including conspiracy to commit corruption, abuse of office, fraudulent acquisition of public property, dealing with suspect property and unlawful failure to pay tax to a public body.

Among the accused are former County Secretary Lilian Ndegwa, former Chief Finance Officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba, former Minister in-charge of Finance and Planning Gregory Mwakanongo, former accounting head Stephen Ogago Osiro, former acting Chief Finance Officer Luke Mugo and former acting Head of Treasury Maurice Ochieng Okere.

Magistrate Ogoti further declined to have the case stayed to allow Kidero move to the High Court.

“There are no good reasons given as to why the case should be stayed, the case will proceed as earlier scheduled,“ the court heard.

In the application, Kidero accused the DPP of charging him with multiple graft counts in order to embarrass him. Kidero argued that if unchallenged, the charges may cause him double jeopardy, hence, wanted the court to prosecute him separately.

However, the prosecution opposed Kidero’s plea, arguing that the application is “incompetent, misleading, and bad in law and an abuse of the process of the court.”