Former NOC official Stephen Soi has faulted the state for introducing new documents in the Sh55 million Rio Scandal, nine months after the prosecution closed its case.
Soi raised the issue while he was being cross-examined by prosecution counsel Maryanne Mwangi regarding a letter dated July 19, 2016.
The letter indicated that Soi had been allocated more than Sh25 million by the National Olympics Committee on his tour to Rio for the summer games.
But Soi said the state should have produced the document when they were laying out their case and not now when he has been put on his defence.
The letter, he said, was not part of the inventory during trial and the prosecution should not be allowed to rely on it as it amounts to fresh evidence.
"This is an ambush. The prosecution already closed its case and cannot be allowed to introduce new documents at this stage," he told trial magistrate Elizabeth Juma.
But the prosecution counsel told the court that they should be allowed to question the document. Mwangi said they are not producing it as evidence but relying on it to shed light on the case.
"Going by evidence produced by the defence, it is important we rely on the document as he was the one who authored it. No prejudice will be suffered as far as evidence is concerned," she said.
The court will rule on issue on Thursday.
Soi is among NOC officials implicated in the Sh55 million corruption scandal that rocked team Kenya in Brazil.
He has denied claims by the Director of Criminal Investigations that his wife Juliet Maritim traveled to Brazil using air tickets meant for the Rio Olympic games.
He said she flew using her own resources. She spent Sh340,000 and stayed at a private hotel and not the Olympic village.
Also facing charges are former Sports minister Hassan Wario, former sports officials Haron Chebet Komen, Patrick Nkabu, Francis Paul Richard Ekai.
Wario is said to have improperly facilitated six individuals’ travel expenses to the Rio, causing a loss of Sh5,846,346 public funds.
Last year, magistrate Juma found the accused persons have a case to answe after the prosecution called 28 witnesses.
Edited by R.Wamochie
