Former foreign Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi with his lawyer Paul Muite outside Milimani law courts after Thuita and former ambassador to Libya Anthony Muchiri and former Chargé d’Affaires in Tokyo Allan Mburu were acquitted of corruption on Wednesday March 30, 2016.
BY SAM ALFAN.
Former foreign Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi and the other two senior officials have been acquitted of all corruption charges in relation to the controversial purchase of Tokyo Embassy, Japan.
The Magistrate, Mr Kennedy Bidali freed the three saying that there was no evidence to warrant putting them on their defence.
The court exonerated the trio from blame over the illegal purchase since the decision was approved by the Ministerial Tender Committee (MTC).
“The testimony by the investigating office absolving the three from any wrongdoing can only lead to one inevitable conclusion, that it was improper to charge them in court,” said chief magistrate Kennedy Bidali.
The court ruled that some of the prosecution lined up witnesses were part of the tendering process.
While making the ruling, an anti-corruption court said the prosecution had failed to prove their culpability in the alleged scam.
The former PS had been charged alongside former ambassador to Libya Anthony Muchiri and former Chargé d’Affaires in Tokyo Allan Mburu.
They were charged with abuse of office in procuring the embassy and ambassador’s residence in Tokyo at a price of Sh1.4 billion, and for failing to involve the ministerial tender committee in approving the purchase.
The two others acquitted are former deputy director of administration Anthony Muchiri and Allan Mburu, former Chargé d’Affaires at the Kenyan embassy in Tokyo .
Lawyer Paul Muite, who represented Mwangi, said the three committed no crime.
“The property was bought at a very favourable price. The owner said he decided to sell it because he would stay months without being paid rent. Sometimes he would stay for four, six months,” Muite said.
While speaking to journalists outside the court after the ruling, Muite said that such frivolous charges would dent the war on corruption.
“The confidence of Kenyans on the war against corruption is not in the drama surrounding the arrests by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,”said Muite.
“It is not in the statistics it keeps churning out. The confidence will be in the number of convictions, the people they are able to send to prison.” Added Muite
At least 18 witnesses, including investigating Officer Kipsang Samabai, testified.
But the three officials might not be out of the hook since DPP might is planning to appeal the matter in the high court after reviewing Mr Bindari ruling that will make Kenyans loose about Sh1.5 billion which are alleged to have been lost due to failure to follow procurement procedures during the purchase of the controversial purchase of Tokyo Embassy, Japan.
Later Thuita issued a press statement over the matter.
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