BY SAM ALFAN.
Outgoing National Land Commission Mohammed Swazuri has suffered major blow.
This is after High Court decline to allow him to convene commission’s meetings.
High Court Anti-Corruption Presiding Judge Hedwig Ong’undi ruled that holding of meetings is purely internal matter and personal to NLC and the court would not want to turn itself into a supervisor of the National Land Commission’s internal affairs.
“I decline to grant the orders sought. The application lacks merit and is dismissed,” ruled Ong’undi.
The judge said that there was no new material that has been presented before and the issue of of Swazuri and other commissioners vacating office on February 19 this year or there about is not anything new.
“They new it even before being charged before the Anti-Corruption court,” she said.
The judge said Swazuri wants to put the court in what could turn into a parallel proceedings before the court and trial court “I will not allow that,” said Ong’undi.
Swazuri filed application before High Court Anti-Corruption court seeking to set aside decision by the trial court barring him to convene the commission meetings.
He applied to convene commission meetings whose members include seven witnesses in a case where the chairman and sixteen others are facing charges of conspiring to defraud the government shilling 221 million and abuse of office charges.
In his application he claimed that their term ends on 19 of February this year and the commission needs to convene meetings and prepare to handover and transition together with other commissioners.
Prosecution opposed Swazuri application saying he has not made any basis for review trial court decision. They said Swazuri should not be allowed to renege on his own undertaking which was not influenced.
She further said upon Swazuri return to the office , the said office was broken into and material documents and evidence was stolen
Prosecution added that Swazuri is not the office he holds and the order for him not to interfere with witnesses cannot bring the office to a halt. They further added that there was a great fear of his interference with witnesses if the application is allowed.
