Court temporarily stops prosecution of NYS suspects

The High Court has temporarily stopped the prosecution of 11 suspects linked to the 791 million shillings theft at the National Youth Service (NYS).

Justice George Odunga extended the summons to Thursday next week when the suspects will appear again in court to answer to money laundering charges.

This is after one of the suspects, Patrick Ogolla, went to court and successfully obtained an order suspending his prosecution for the charge.

The suspects, including Josephine Kabura, who recently filed a damning affidavit implicating former Devolution CS Anne Waiguru to the NYS scam, had been summoned to appear in court Tuesday to answer to the charges but none of them showed up.

The suspects are facing charges of jointly transferring 77.6 million shillings to an account at a local bank.

Late February, police instituted charges against businesswoman Josephine Kabura and 10 other people, accusing them of money laundering and purchasing prime property and state of the art vehicles with money stolen from the National Youth Service (NYS).

Kabura, John Kago Ndungu, Patrick Ogolla Onyango and Ben Gethi Wangui are accused of arranging the purchase of a Range Rover Reg. No: KCB 750Z worth 23 million shillings with proceeds of crime between December 31^st, 2014 and 30^th April 2015.

Kabura, Kago and Gethi’s mother, Charity Wangui Gethi, allegedly arranged the purchase of a Jeep Cherokee KCD 241Q worth 6.3 million shillings.

The DPP in another count said Samuel Mudanyi Wachenje alias Sam Mwadime engaged in the purchase of a Toyota Prado KCE 874R worth 5.2 million shillings with money stolen from NYS.

Another count accuses Kabura, Kago, Anthony Kihara Gethi and John Hope Vandamme of arrangement for the purchase of a Land Cruiser KCD 536P valued at 5.07 million shillings with part of the 791 million shillings siphoned from NYS.

Kago, Kihara and Paul Kinuthia Gachoka also allegedly purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser worth 5.2 million shillings with the same money.