• Ethics and Anti-Corruption officials arrested former lawmaker at his Nairobi home on Wednesday.
• The suspects could end up in Malindi GK Prison if they fail to pay Sh5m bond with a surety of a similar amount or a cash bail of Sh3 million
Image: ALPHONCE GARI
Former Garsen MP Danson Mungata was among 26 suspects charged in a Malindi court with corruptly obtaining Sh51 million.
Only the ex-MP and six former Kilifi county officials yesterday appeared before Malindi chief magistrate Julie Oseko. They denied the charges and were released on a Sh 5 million bond with a surety of a similar amount or a cash bail of Sh3 million.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officials arrested Mungatana on Wednesday at around 3pm after raiding his home in Nairobi. He had arrived home from the burial of his wife at Ngao village in Tana River.
The officers drove Mungatana to Malindi police station where he was joined by the six other suspects who had also been arrested.
The suspects are facing 40 counts of various charges related to graft and economic crimes.
The other suspects are John Kahindi Kalume, Paul Teido Mwazo, Josephine Felix Mramba, Ebrahim Mwanje Zia, Lucy Wanjugu Kibogo and Benaya Kisaka Mugavana.
The court has issued summonses for the other suspects who have not been arrested. They include county government officials and businesspeople.
They are to appear in court on May 2 when the matter will be mentioned.
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi is among the key witnesses in the corruption case.
In the first count, Kalume was charged alongside others who were not before the court with fraudulently making payments from public revenue.
They were charged that between September 19, 2016 and October 7, 2016 in Kilifi they fraudulently paid Sh7.2 million to Daima 1 Enterprises for goods not supplied.
Kalume and others are also accused of fraudulently paying Sh 4.1 million to Daima One Enterprise and Sh 5.4 million to Zohali Limited.
Other companies which received money from the county government without supplying goods include Makegra Supplies limited that got Sh 7.1 million
Out of the 40 counts, Mungatana is facing eight charges of obtaining cash from the county treasury without supplying anything.
The ex-MP together with Lucy Wanjugu Kiboghi and Anne Muthoni Kibogo, who are directors of Zohali Services limited, are also accused of acquiring money fraudulently from the Kilifi government on various dates.
The Assistant Director of Pubic Prosecutions Renson Ingonga proposed that the suspects be given a bond of Sh.10 million each.
Defence lawyers, however. objected to the proposal and asked the court to give lenient bond terms as the suspects were poor.
Ndegwa Njuiru, who was representing Mungatana. had earlier filed an application seeking the court not to allow his client take plea as he was grieving after the loss of his wife. a
However, chief magistrate rejected the application, saying despite the fact that he was grieving all the other suspects would take plea.
The suspects have another case in Kilifi related to the one in Malindi that has been going on for the last two years.
By the time of going to press, the suspects were still at the Malindi law courts cells and could end up in Malindi GK Prison if they fail to pay for their bonds or cash bail.
Edited by Pamela Wanambisi