AG on the spot for halting Kirubi case

Attorney General Amos Wako Wednesday came under heavy criticism for consenting to an order stopping the trial of a fraud case involving businessman Chris Kirubi and 13 others.

Saying the AG cannot have his cake and eat it, advocate Ahmednasir Abdullahi said it was unfair for Mr Wako to allow the case to be stopped through an application made by one of the accused persons.

He said it was the AG who initiated the trial of the 14 persons and agreeing to stop it to allow Mr Joseph Munene pursue a constitutional application at the High Court, was an abuse of the court process.

The lawyer was reacting to application by Mr Munene’s advocate Fred Ngatia that the case had been stopped by the Court of Appeal following consent between himself and a state counsel.

It was, however, noted that Mr Munene made the application without involving his co-accuseds. The application to stop the trial at the magistrate court had been declined by Justice Muga Apondi in August but unsatisfied, he proceeded to the Appellate Court.

Before the case was heard at the Appellate Court, a deal was struck by principal State Counsel Warui Mungai and Mr Ngatia stopping the case, pending the constitutional application. The case, said Mr Ngatia, was certified urgent and will be heard in December.

But on Wednesday, lawyers acting for the 13 accused persons said it was unfair to stop the case without involving them.

“The application substantially affects my client. Reaching such a decision without our involvement is very unfair. We want the case to be concluded as fast as possible so that we can clear this malicious and false allegations,” said Prof Githu Muigai who represents Mr Kirubi.

Another advocate, Chaha Odera, said the purported letter from the Court of Appeal showed nothing to prove that it had been endorsed by the court. Other that seeking to stop the trial, Mr Munene successfully argued to be allowed to not to attend court after he relocated to Canada.

Other persons charged with the two are Mr Nigel Ralph Pavitt, Mr Shamash Habib, Ms Kezzy Wanjiru and Mr Stephen Njoroge.

They also include Mr Francis Emmanuel Oyugi, Mr Isaac Awuondo, Mr Kennedy Mbugua Thairu, Mr Deepak Kantilal Shah, Mr Atul Raichand Shah, Mr Amin Akbekali and Mr Shamash Habib Manji.

They have been charged with conspiracy to defraud Uchumi Supermarket and breaching public trust.

It is alleged that they conspired to defraud Uchumi Supermarkets by selling a piece of land on which the retail chain’s Aga Khan Walk branch stands for Sh147 million.

The charge sheet states that they sold the land to a company called Allgate and then leased it to the supermarket at a monthly rent of Sh1.7 million.

The State claims that he approved the sale of the land without obtaining an independent valuation. They have denied the charge and are out on cash bail of Sh400,000.

The case will be mentioned on Thursday to confirm whether the letter was endorsed by the Appellate Court.