BY SAM ALFAN.
Graft trial against an ally of Deputy President William Ruto will now be heard after next year’s General Election.
The trial against Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, who is accused of money laundering and conspiracy to commit corruption, has been set for September 5, 2022 as the available dates for hearing. Senior Principal Magistrate Rose Makungu set the hearing after parties appeared before for mention of the case.
During the mention, the accused persons and their lawyers said they were yet to receive some documents that were to be supplied to them. The court directed them to confirm if the documents have been supplied using an inventory which has been supplied to one of them.
“There is a high possibility that what is in this inventory (list of the documents) is not what we have in our possession,” said the defence lawyers.
Gachagua has been charged together William Wahome Mwangi, Anne Nduta Ruo, Julianne Jahenda Makaa, Samuel Murimi Ireri, Grace Wambui Kuriuki, Lawrence Kimaru and Irene Wambui Ndigiriri, David Reuben Nyangi Nguru and Rapid Medical Suppliers Ltd.
They are accused that on December 29, 2014 in Nairobi jointly with others not before court, they fraudulently acquired Sh6 million being part of the payment paid purportedly for supply of Dialysis machines to Nyeri Provincial General Hospital.
Rigathi is also accused of indirectly receiving Sh104, 821,205 and engaged in transactions to conceal movements of the said money, having reasons to believe they were proceeds of crime.
It is alleged that he committed the offence between January 2015 and June 2019 in Nairobi jointly with others before court. The money was paid to him Bungoma County Government,
The prosecution told the Anti-Corruption Court that between the year 2013 and 2020 in Nairobi, being the account holder and signatory of the said account, Gachagua fraudulently acquired Sh7, 330,011, 265.80 in three bank accounts at Rafiki Micro-finance. The money is believed to be proceeds of crime.
He is released on a bond of 25 million or cash bail of 12 million.
