Court frees Mary Wambui, daughter on Sh50m bond

The Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani, Nairobi has granted businesswoman Mary Wambui Mungai and her daughter Purity Njoki a bond of Sh50 million each after they denied charges of evading taxes amounting to Sh2.2 billion for six years consecutively.

Senior Principal Magistrate Felix Kombo also gave the pair an alternative of depositing Sh25 million cash bail each.

In his ruling, the magistrate noted that the conduct of the mother and her daughter during the investigations was “below par” for failing to honour the court summons “and must be condemned”.

“The court, however, notes that they have not appeared in court today under compulsion but voluntarily. This is something they could have done in the first place,” said the magistrate.

Remorseful

The two, who are directors of Purma Holdings Limited, told the court that they were remorseful and apologised.

Ms Mungai, a member of the Friends of Jubilee Foundation lobby which raised millions of shillings for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election campaign in 2017 in two hours, was first summoned by the KRA in June, along with her daughters to shed light on the alleged unpaid taxes.

She did not appear and also failed to honour summons on December 3, leading to issuance of the warrants of arrest by the Anti-Corruption Court.

Flight risk

Following fears by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that the two are a flight risk, the court said the apprehension can be addressed through bail terms.

KRA had informed the court that during an attempt to arrest the accused persons on Wednesday evening at Weston Hotel, police recovered a bag they left behind after escaping the dragnet.

Among the items found in the bag was a temporary permit for the Republic of Zambia.

“Of concern to the prosecution is evidence that the permit is indicated to be valid until January 27, 2022 and was found in custody at premises where Ms Mungai had sought refuge in clear attempt to evade police and avoid being arrested,” KRA’s lawyer stated in court.

She continued: “Based on the evidence, Ms Mungai has proved [to be] a flight risk and can only be compelled to appear if warrants are issued. We object to the bond or bail.”

In opposing the bail application, KRA said from the records maintained at the reception of Weston Hotel, Ms Mungai and her daughter were not listed as guests on December 8, 2021 despite their personal belongings being found at the premise.

Second chance

But the court ruled that although the Zambia permit was recovered when investigations were up, Ms Mungai did not intend to use it.

“The accused have shown that they deserve a second chance. The bond terms will secure their attendance to court,” he ruled.

The accused are facing eight counts related to tax evasion and KRA has listed at least three witnesses to prove its case.

According to the charge sheet, they committed the offences on June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2020.

After granting the bond, the magistrate also directed them to surrender to court their travel documents, both Kenyan passports and any alien passports they may be holding.

No travel

During pendency of the trial, the magistrate directed that they should not travel outside the country without clearance of the court. The Director of Immigration was served with the order restricting travel by the accused persons.

Another condition is that they should refrain from contacting or interfering with the prosecution witnesses and they must cooperate with the investigators.

The magistrate also told the Kenya Revenue Authority that any new investigations mustbe sanctioned by the court.

They will also present themselves to KRA DCI offices on December 14 for processing of their fingerprints while the case will be mentioned on December 16 for pre-trial status.

[email protected]