An anti-corruption court has dismissed an application to have a statement recorded by a suspect in the Sh26 million Wajir graft case reviewed by an examiner.
The request by the prosecution, magistrate Teresia Murigi said, will reduce Jeff Mworia's right to fair trial.
“The fact that the statement will be subjected to an examiner will be tantamount to opening the prosecution's case. I decline to allow the application,” Murigi said.
The state had on Monday told the magistrate it needed to subject Mworia’s statement to a document examiner since he appeared to disown it.
The suspect had a difficult time responding to questions raised from a statement he recorded in 2018.
“This court ought to establish the truth and if the accused is unable to tell whether the signature is his or not, it’s only fair that the signature on the document he is disowning be subjected to examination,” the prosecution said.
But Mworia, through lawyer Sam Nyaberi, urged the court to disallow the application.
Mworia, Ahmed Sahal Omar and Daudi Abdullahi were in June found to have a case to answer.
They are accused of having withdrawn Sh26.1 million from Kenya Commercial Bank, Wajir branch, on October 9, 2018.
Abdullahi is separately charged with abuse of office and failure to manage public property.
He is said to have used his office to confer a benefit of Sh26.1 million to Mworia by unlawfully authorising him to be the sole signatory of the county government of Wajir imprest account between October 5 and October 9, 2018.
The trio appeared in court for the first time in November 2018. The hearing resumes on December 11.
