Swazuri pleads with court for review of his bond terms

Embattled National Land Commission (NLC) Chairman Muhammad Swazuri now wants the court to review the bond terms granted to him.

This is emerged on Thursday during the mention of a case in which Swazuri and others are facing corruption-related charges over alleged fraudulent compensation in the acquiring of land for the Standard Gauge Railway construction.

Through his lawyer, Swazuri, whose position at NLC has been taken up by his deputy, says they will be asking the court’s interpretation of Article 257 of the constitution which provides for the removal of a constitutional holder.

The application will be heard on Friday morning.

While granting Swazuri and others bail, the magistrate ordered the State officers to stay away from their offices and only visit them in the company of a police officer.

The court also directed the accused persons to deposit their passports in court and not to leave the country without the court’s permission.

Swazuri was charged alongside Kenya Railways Corporation boss Atanas Maina and 10 others were charged with corruption related charges. The prosecution told the court that the accused conspired to pay more than Ksh.221 million as compensation for public land that was irregularly acquired.

They all denied the charges and are out on bail.

Recently, Swazuri also wrote a letter to the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua demanding his apparent ejection from the lands commission.

In the lengthy letter, Swazuri claimed that the move by his deputy, Abigael Mbagaya Mukolwe to replace him was unconstitutional.

Swazuri alleged that Ms. Mbagaya, who took over his position last week, orchestrated his arrest further accusing her of engaging in underhand dealings at the commission.