- In the case one witness has since testified and the rest expected to give their testimony after the coming general elections.
- In the case one witness has since testified and the rest expected to give their testimony after the coming general election.
Image: STEPHEN ASTARIKO
The Sh233 million corruption case against Garissa Governor Ali Korane and his three co-accused will now proceed in August.
The matter was fixed for further hearing by chief magistrate Elizabeth Juma from August 23 to October 13.
However the fourth accused Ahmed Abdullahi, who was not present during Monday’s court proceedings on claims of sitting for exams at the University of Nairobi, was ordered to appear in court on May 30.
The magistrate further ordered the EACC investigating officer to probe the alleged time table of the exams his lawyer presented in court.
In the case one witness has since testified and the rest expected to give their testimony after the coming general election.
Last month the case failed to proceed because the magistrate was bereaved.
The case was scheduled for hearing but the parties were informed that Juma, the Milimani anti-corruption court chief magistrate, was in mourning.
The case was coming up after the governor and his co-accused in February lost a bid to stop their prosecution over the misappropriation of Sh233 million from the county coffers.
Korane, Abdi Bulee, Ibrahim Shurie and Ahmed Abdullahi had challenged their prosecution on account that the money was refunded.
But High Court judge Esther Maina ruled they must face the full trial for other charges of conspiracy to defraud.
“If they believe there was no misappropriation of funds, then the trial court would be the proper tribunal to determine the issue upon hearing and evaluating the evidence from both sides. This court cannot interfere with a proper process before the magistrate’s court,” Justice Maina ruled.
The judge said the accused had not proved the charges against them were commenced through an ulterior motive.
She said the Director of Public Prosecutions did nothing wrong in approving charges against the governor and that there was nothing to show that the accused were being victimised.
“I’m not persuaded that their prosecution is an abuse of court process. They will have an opportunity to adduce the evidence and facts they have raised before the trial court and should they be convicted and feel aggrieved, they will still come to this court for appeal,” Maina ruled.
Korane and his co-accused have all denied the charges. They were charged in 2020.
The graft charges relate to misappropriation of Sh233 million for a World Bank-funded project in the county.
-Edited by SKanyara