Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and fifteen others will plead afresh to corruption charges involving Sh58 million.
Anti-corruption Magistrate Douglas Ogoti declined to consolidate Kidero’s file with that of Nyakach MP Joshua Aduma.
Aduma is charged with corruptly authorising payment of Sh10 million to a law firm of a dead lawyer eight years ago.
The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions wanted the two cases consolidated and heard together but the court disallowed the application.
The prosecution argued that witnesses and exhibits to be relied on in both cases were the same and that the offences were committed in the same transaction.
But the defence argued that while Aduma worked for the county in 2011, Kidero was not the governor of Nairobi hence making the situations different.
Ogoti said both files showed there were charges of conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption. In both charge sheets, it was evident that there were two transactions and the only common denominator was lawyer Stephen Mburu.
He said the prayer sought by the prosecution did not meet the threshold but directed they present a new charge sheet.
“Prepare and present new charge sheets at the next mention for taking plea afresh. I made the above observations, recommendations and directions as I could not decipher from the perusal of the charges that the transaction involved formed part of the same transaction or a series of transactions,” he said
He said that some of the offences committed in the Sh58 million case will now be tried in the Sh10 million case facing Aduma.
The matter will be mentioned on January 16 next year to confirm compliance.
In the Sh58 million case, Kidero was charged alongside his former chief of staff George Njogu, former Nairobi mayor John Kariuki and former councillor Paul Mutungi.
