Former FKF boss Mwendwa fails to appear in court
Former Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa at the Milimani Law Courts on November 30, 2021 where he was charged with four counts of fraud.
What you need to know:
- Subsequently, the Court directed he avails himself on July 15.
Embattled former Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa Tuesday failed to show up at the Kiambu Law Court where he was supposed to take a plea over alleged fresh fraud charges during his tenure in office.
However, his lawyer Victor Omwebu told Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate Mr Wilson Radin that the summon to avail himself in court had indicated that he was to appear in court on Monday which was a public holiday.
The court however ruled that Mr Mwendwa should present himself on July 15, Friday failure to which he will be acting in contempt of a court order and will be liable to prosecution.
“Upon hearing the defence lawyer's argument on the absence of the accused person (Mwendwa), I hereby issue summons requiring him to attend court for plea taking on July 15, 2022,” ruled Mr Rading
“Since July 11 was a public holiday, Mwendwa may not have been aware that he needed to attend court on July 12, 2022 instead, hence the court is giving him the benefit of the doubt,” he added
The order requiring Mwendwa to appear in court was granted by Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate K. Sambu on July 7.
The application for the fresh summons for Mwendwa to attend court for fresh plea taking was presented before Sambu by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Joseph Riungu Gitonga less than a week after his corruption case had been dropped by the court citing lack of evidence.
The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) last Thursday confirmed this stance to have Mwendwa arraigned in court attributing the latter to new evidence gathered against the troubled former football boss citing misappropriation of public funds.
Mwendwa was freed on Wednesday in a Sh38 million corruption case after the prosecution failed to present evidence in the matter.
Milimani Anti-corruption chief Magistrate Eunice Nyutu discharged Mwendwa under Section 87 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code for want of prosecution.
Under this section 87 ( a) of the CPC, a suspect may be arrested and charged afresh once evidence is received. It is usually meant to benefit the prosecution in the event it discovers loopholes in its investigation diary.
The magistrate had been told early this year that Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed and senior KCB Bank managers had declined summons to appear before DCI officers to record statements and hand over exhibits for onward transmission to both prosecution and defence counsel to prepare Mwendwa's statement of defence.
Nyutu declined concerted effort by the DPP to have the matter adjourned up to October 2022 to enable the ODPP review the file.
Defence lawyers Mutua teaming up with Charles Njenga opposed the request wondering what review of the investigation diary shall take four months.
Initially Mwendwa was being prosecuted by Ms Everlyne Onunga who has since been promoted and posted to head Kiambu County.
The arrest of Mwendwa may experience some hiccups due to the tag of war between the office of the DPP and that of the DCI over the drafting and signing of charges against suspects.
Mwendwa had been out on a cash bail of Sh10million.
He had been charged that between April 16 and May 31,2021 at unknown place within the republic of Kenya Mwendwa jointly with others not before court conspired to commit an economic an offence of corruption namely to defraud Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Sh 29,502,709.
He is further accused that on May 15, 2021 at an unknown place within the republic of Kenya jointly with others not before court he fraudulently acquired public property worth Sh2.5 million belonging to Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
Mwendwa is further accused of fraudulent acquisition of property amounting to Sh5 million and another Sh1 million on March 4 and May 6 this year respectively.
His exit from office came days after Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed had disbanded FKF and placed a caretaker committee to be in charge of running football in the interim. The decision earned Kenya a ban from international football by Fifa.
