The prosecution in the criminal case against Keroche Breweries on Tuesday said they will call 14 witnesses.
During the pre-trial conference, chief magistrate Martha Mutuku was told 217 documentary evidence will be adduced.
The case will commence on January 27 next year and take five days. Magistrate asked the prosecution to provide a guide on how the proceedings will be conducted.
Keroche CEO Tabitha Karanja appeared in court while the board chairman Joseph Karanja was absent. Defence lawyer Kioko Kilikumi said Joseph is unwell and he will be filing a medical report on his condition.
Tabitha is out of custody on a cash bail of Sh10 million while Karanja was given a Sh2 million cash bail with an alternative bond of Sh5 million and a similar surety.
Nairobi chief magistrate Francis Andayi while announcing Karanja’s bail terms said he was given a lesser amount due to his bad health which was admitted by the defence and prosecution.
The duo was charged alongside their company Keroche Breweries Limited. The court ordered Tabitha to deposit a cash bail of Sh15 million within seven days failure to which all the directors would be arrested and detained until the conditions set out by the court were complied with.
The court further ordered them to deposit their passports within seven days and that they could not leave the jurisdiction of the court without permission.
They were arrested on August 22 and held at the Nairobi DCI offices. However, Joseph was released at 10am after his doctor’s intervention over his health status.
The prosecution told court that on diverse dates between February 2015 and February 2016, the duo made incorrect statements to the Kenya Revenue Authority over payment of income tax amounting to Sh 14.5 billion.
