Mwiraria faces arrest for failure to appear in court in Anglo Leasing case
From left: Samuel Bundotich, Chris Obure, Sammy Kyungu and Francis Chahonyo at a Nairobi Court on October 5, 2015 during the mention of their Anglo Leasing case. A Nairobi court has issued a warrant of arrest against former minister David Mwiraria for failure to appear in court over the same case. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Principal Magistrate Felix Kombo ruled that he was not satisfied with the reasons given for Mr Mwiraria’s failure to appear in court.
- He said that the only option was to issue the warrant for him to be brought to court.
- Mr Mwiraria is among ten people accused of conspiracy to defraud the government of billions of shillings through dubious contracts.
- The contracts were for the purchase and installation of security surveillance systems for the Kenya Police.
A Nairobi court has issued a warrant of arrest against former Finance minister David Mwiraria for failing to appear in court to answer to charges over his roles in the Sh10 billion Anglo Leasing scandal.
Principal Magistrate Felix Kombo ruled that he was not satisfied with the reasons given for Mr Mwiraria’s failure to appear in court.
He said that the only option was to issue the warrant for him to be brought to court.
“There is nothing to show that his medical condition has worsened, and the explanation given by his lawyer is not enough to prove why he is absent.
“I therefore issue a warrant of arrest for him to be brought to court to explain his condition,” ruled Mr Kombo.
The magistrate, however, gave the former minister temporary reprieve by suspending the warrant until Tuesday when his lawyer said he will either present him in court or medical documents to prove he is incapacitated and cannot attend court.
Mr Mwiraria is among ten people accused of conspiracy to defraud the government of billions of shillings through dubious contracts for the purchase and installation of security surveillance systems for the Kenya Police.
The other accused, who have already been charged, are Kisii Senator Chris Obure, former postmaster-general Francis Chahonyo, former Transport PS Sammy Kyungu and former financial secretary in the Ministry of Finance Samuel Bundotich.
Others are former Internal Security PS Dave Mwangi, former Finance PS Joseph Magari, former head of debt management David Onyonka, businessmen Deepak Kamani, Rashmi Kamani and Chamanlal Kamani.
