BY SAM ALFAN.
Businessmen Deepak Kamani and Rashmi Kamani has suffered a major blow in their bid to block Director of Public Prosecution to introduce additional witnesses in their corruption case.
Justice Joseph Onyiego allowed prosecution to call additional witnesses and and documentary evidence.
“Prosecution application to call four additional witnesses and documentary evidence is allowed subject to such conditions that the trial court may attach regarding attendance of those witnesses and production of those documents in a timeliy manner without further judgements”, ruled the judge.
The judge set aside orders of the trial court made on the September 10,2019 .
The court ordered deputy registrar to remit the original court file back to the trial court for proceedings to continue.
The judge said the additional evidence was not intended to fill in the gaps as none was specified nor is intended to ambush the defence considering that there was advance notice.
Judge added that though the trial court was concerned and properly with maxim that justice delayed is justice denied , it misdirected itself by locking out witnesses who intended evidence was already in the hands of the defence and which would assist the court to make a just decision.
“In this case, the defence were supplied with additional documents and list of witnesses in advance although the notice was short”, added the judge.
Last year the DPP through Nicholas Mutuku appeal before the high court following trial magistrate Martha Mutuku to bar him from adducing the evidence of the four witnesses in the case.
But defence lawyers led by Kioko Kilokumi and Amednasir Abdullahi had objected the prosecution move for additional witnesses, saying it will be prejudicial to their clients.
Through veteran lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi , the two argued that the introduction of new witnesses was an afterthought after the DPP realised his case was falling apart. They said the new evidence, if allowed, would unfairly compromise their defence.
SC Ahmednassir further submitted that the introduction of new witnesses and evidence was not only an ambush but also an attempt to fill the gap left by the 45 witnesses who had testified.
In the case the Kamanis are charged alongside former PSs Joseph Magari, Dave Mwangi and David Onyonka over conspiring to defraud the Government over Sh 3.5 billion.
It is alleged that two companies Sound Day Corporation and Apex Finance Corporation signed for the contract to supply security equipment to the Police Department were direct beneficiaries of the monies which costed the Kenya Government Euros 40 million.
