Toxic sugar: DPP granted two weeks to amend charges

A court has granted the Director of Public Prosecutions two weeks to file new charges against eight suspects linked to the disappearance and sale of contaminated sugar that had been earmarked for conversion into industrial ethanol.

Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Tuesday allowed the DPP’s request to be given more time to amend the charge sheet.

The accused persons include the suspended Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) Managing Director Benard Njiraini.

They were arrested over the irregular release of the consignment comprising 20,000 bags of 50 kilogrammes each of sugar that had been declared unfit for human consumption in 2018 and earmarked for conversion into industrial ethanol.

When the case was called for a pre-trial conference, Prosecutor Anderson Gikunda informed the court that the prosecution also intended to consolidate the case with another.

"The matter was coming for consolidation with another file and for pretrial. The consolidated charge sheet and the documentary evidence are not ready. We pray for a mention date on June 21, 2023," said Prosecutor Gikunda.

Defence lawyers led by Peter King'ang'i had opposed the request by the State to postpone the pre-trial conference, saying that they wanted the trial to be expedited.

The court heard that the careers of the accused persons were at risk.

National interest

"We wish to have the matter proceed speedily. The careers of the accused persons are at risk following their arraignment in court and the national interest," the defence said.

The other accused persons are Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Deputy Commissioner Joseph Kiago Kaguru, KRA staffers Derrick Njeru Kago and Peter Njoroge Mwangi and traders Chrispus Waithaka, Mohammed Ali, Abdi Yusuf and Pollyanne Njeri.

They are accused of conspiring to steal 20,064, 50 kilogrammes of condemned brown sugar valued at Sh20 million, which was intended to be used as raw material for the distillation of industrial ethanol.

They also face charges of abuse of office, stealing, interference with goods subject to customs control and being in possession of restricted goods.

They denied the charges and were released on a Sh400,000 bail each. According to the charge sheet, the alleged offences were committed on diverse dates between December 9, 2022, and May 3, 2023, at an unknown place within the country.

Mr Njiraini faces a separate charge involving abuse of office by allegedly recommending the conversion of condemned brown sugar into industrial ethanol through the process of distillation, an act which was prejudicial to the office of the Commissioner of Customs and border control KRA.

For his part, Mr Kaguru, who was the KRA deputy commissioner of Revenue and Regional Coordination, was separately charged he used his office to arbitrarily single source a company trading as Vinepack Lites to convert the condemned brown sugar into ethanol without competitive bidding as directed by the Attorney-General's advisory opinion.

The case will be mentioned on June 21, 2023.