• Rotich was charged in 2019 alongside his former PS Kamau Thugge and six others with several corruption-related counts.
• State counsel Thuguri say they have no intention to delay the case as alleged.
Image: FILE
The defence team in former Treasury CS Henry Rotich’s corruption case has accused the DPP of delaying the matter by not disclosing evidence to them.
Lawyer Katwa Kigen told Milimani chief magistrate Douglas Ogoti that the state has yet to disclose to them its evidence close to two years since the accused were charged.
Rotich was charged in 2019 alongside his former PS Kamau Thugge and six others with several corruption-related counts, including abuse of office, conspiracy to commit an economic crime, conferring a benefit and single-sourcing for the insurance of the projects.
The DPP has since withdrawn charges against Thugge and he is expected to testify against his former boss Rotich.
Kigen said the decision not to supply them with the evidence is delaying the matter. But state counsel Thuguri told court they have no intention to delay the case as alleged.
“As an office, we have no intentions to delay this matter; we are eager to have the same heard expeditiously,” Thuguri said.
She further asked the court for a two-week adjournment, saying the two lead counsels in the matter—Alexander Muteti and Ali Taib—had gone to condole with their boss Noordin Haji following the death of his father – Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji. Haji died on Monday morning. He was buried in the afternoon.
The court heard that the two would address the issue of disclosure and give the way forward. Thuguri said the DPP will present an amended charge sheet and disclose evidence in two week’s time.
Ogoti took investigating officer Thomas Tanui to task on why they have not disclosed evidence to the accused.
“You are the owners of the evidence; I want a confirmation from you and a commitment whether at the next mention you will have been able to enable the DPP to disclose,” he said.
But Tanui said they need two more weeks to supply all evidence to the DPP, so he can give it to the defence team.
Ogoti noted the delays in the matter but allowed the adjournment until next month.
“At the next mention, the court will not allow an adjournment because of non-disclosure,” he ruled.
The case will be mentioned on March 19.
Last December, Rotich filed a case at the High Court seeking to have the fraud charges against him dropped. The former CS alleged that he was unlawfully charged over the multibillion Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal.
He claimed that the alleged procurement violations he has been accused of can only be committed by the accounting officer or employees in the procuring entity – the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA).
He further argued that the National Treasury or himself had no role to play in procurement matters of the entity, otherwise it would defeat the very purpose of securing accountability.
“I am not the accounting officer or employee of the procuring entity (KVDA) or the parent ministry and furthermore, the Ministry of Environment, in a letter dated March 2016, stated that the board of directors of KVDA approved the development of the two dams,” Rotich said.
The High Court has yet to determine if his application will be allowed and the charges dropped.
Edited by F'Orieny