• Surveyor Weldon Maritim took the court through survey plans and maps for land in Embakasi and Athi River for the railway
• Magistrate said the witness appeared to be engaging in guesswork
Image: COLLINS KWEYU
A magistrate yesterday took issue with a witness who could not read a document in the Sh221 million case against former NLC boss Muhammad Swazuri.
"If he is not clear with his testimony, what is the purpose of going through them? It has no evidential value,” Anti-Corruption Court magistrate Lawrence Mugambi said.
“The documents the witness is relying on are not helping us. They are not legible. We just don’t take evidence for the sake of it. I also want to understand the evidence adduced but the witness needs to be clear,” he added.
Witness Weldon Maritim took the court through survey plans and maps for land in Embakasi and Athi River for the SGR.
Swazuri and 16 others are facing charges in the Sh221 million Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) scam.
Mugambi faulted the prosecution for using documents that are not legible, thus making it hard for the court to understand the case.
Maritim has been a senior Ministry of Lands surveyor attached to the Ruaraka field head office since 2012.
Prior to this, he worked in Malindi as a district surveyor. His duties included carrying out survey work, supervision of surveys and authentication of records.
When the maps were shown to the court, the magistrate said the witness appeared to be engaging in guesswork as he could not read his own documents.
This prompted the prosecution to stand down its own witness and requested the court for more time to get the original copies of the documents.
The defence team led by lawyer King’ori Kariuki conceded to an application for an adjournment to allow the state put its house in order. However, they requested that the prosecution be reminded to always come prepared when dates for hearings are allocated. They also requested that clear copies be provided to them.
The magistrate subsequently directed the witness to liaise with the investigations officer to scan the original documents.
“It is easier to read the original than the copy. The witness is stood down. The hearing shall proceed on Monday next week,” said Mugambi.
Swazuri, Kenya Railways Corporation managing director Atanas Maina and 15 others have denied illegally facilitating the payment of Sh221.3 million in compensation for the acquisition for the Standard Gauge Railway land.
Swazuri has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the taxpayer by approving the Sh221.3 million payments for five parcels of public land.
Maina is accused of failing to protect the land which is listed as railway reserves.
Their co-accused are Tom Aziz, Francis Karimi, Victor Wahome, Elijah Mwenda, John Mwangi, Caroline Kituyi, Peter Mburu, Gladys Mwikali, Obadiah Mbugua, David Some, and Esther Some.