Court Declines DPP’s Request To Dismiss Ksh.31M Graft Case Against Former Kenya Pipeline MD Tanui
The Milimani High Court has rejected a request to drop a corruption case involving a sum of Ksh.30 million against former Managing Director of Kenya Pipeline, Charles Kiprotich Tanui, and his co-defendants.
The decision deals a setback to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Initially, they had lined up 25 witnesses to give testimony in the case. However, they altered their approach by refusing to present the final witness, an Investigating Officer from the EACC, on the stand.
The ODPP later requested the dismissal of the case, but the court rejected the plea and directed that the proceedings continue until a resolution is reached.
The ODPP submitted a request for the dismissal of the case for the second time, and once again, the trial court rejected the application.
Previously, the DPP has faced allegations of summoning witnesses without effectively guiding their testimony, leading to situations where the court has had to acquit defendants due to insufficient evidence.
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Tanui, along with Elias Maina Karumi (Former Chief Manager-Technical) and Josphat Kipkoech Sirma (Former Chief Electrical Engineer), faced charges in 2020 for non-compliance with procurement laws. They were accused of approving a payment of Euros 261,070 (equivalent to Ksh. 31,987,584) to Redline Limited for three autotransformers on February 18, 2014.
The court was informed that Karumi, through his official capacity, inappropriately granted an advantage to Redline Limited by approving a payment of Euros 8,695 (Ksh.1,065,354) on the same day.
Sirma faced allegations of falsely certifying the completion of works for the tender awarded to Redline Limited by signing a Material Arrival Advice Note/Inspection Report without proper authorization, presenting it as a genuine document.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had stated earlier that the funds allocated to Redline Limited were disbursed with fraudulent documentation. Furthermore, the autotransformers specified in the contract were never installed, tested, or commissioned as agreed upon.
Court Declines DPP’s Request To Dismiss Ksh.31M Graft Case Against Former Kenya Pipeline MD Tanui