Former President Uhuru Kenyatta was on Tuesday dragged into the multibillion-shilling Kimwarer and Arror dams graft case.
Uhuru was mentioned in his capacity as the then Minister of Finance in the coalition government in 2008.
In the case, Former Treasury CS Henry Rotich has been charged alongside six others with conspiracy to defraud Sh63 billion in the Arror and Kimwarer dams case.
On Tuesday, lawyer Katwa Kigen produced a memorandum to the Cabinet from the then minister for Regional Development Authorities Fredrick Gumo and late Minister John Michuki that was later signed by Uhuru.
Chief magistrate Lawrence Mugambi heard that the memorandum was signed by Uhuru who was the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on August 4, 2009.
Katwa was cross-examining witness Charity Muyu who confirmed to the court that indeed the memorandum she was shown states that Uhuru signed it.
The memorandum produced in court and seen by the Star states that it was aimed at spurring development through sustainable exploitation of natural resources in line with vision 2030.
Kerio Valley Development Authority whose CEO David Kimosop and other senior staff have been charged with the Kimwarer and Arror graft case has been named in the memorandum as one of the six RDAs that were established.
In the recommendations to the cabinet, Gumo and Michuki recommended that the cabinet sub-committee should approve the projects and programmes.
On financing, the memorandum suggested several avenues be exploited which included budget allocations from the exchequer, resource mobilisation through public-private partnerships initiated and financing by the development partners.
Katwa also put up a spirited fight to exonerate Kimosop from the case producing documents to show that Kimwarer and Arror dams were planned.
The prosecution case is that the dams were never planned for before the tenders were advertised.
Among the documents he produced included the Memorandum to Cabinet, KVDA strategic plan 2014-2018 and a letter from the treasury acknowledging plans for three dams including the Kimwarer and Arror dams at Sh 85 billion.
On Friday last week, Muyu testified that Attorney General had also okayed the process of construction of the two dams.
She told the court that former AG Githu Muigai and the current AG Kihara Kariuki gave their opinion on the construction of the dams which okayed the process.
Muyu, a procurement officer at KVDA, had been charged alongside Rotich in the dams scandal but the DPP dropped charges against her.
Katwa put her to the task to explain why her plea-bargaining request was allowed by the DPP while the one for Kimosop was declined.
Muyu told the court that she voluntarily offered to be a witness in the case after consultations with her lawyer.
“I offered my affidavit and then the next moment I was dropped off the case,” Muyu said.
“Is it true that after your charges were dropped you got back your job together with accrued salary for the months were on suspension?” Katwa posed.
Muyu confirmed that it was indeed true that she got her job back saying after she gave her affidavit to the prosecution, she got a letter lifting her suspension.
“Kimosop did the same thing but his plea bargain was rejected, do you have any idea why that is so?” Katwa asked.
“Your honour I don’t know why, and I didn’t even know that the other accused had offered to be witness until now,” Muyu said.
The hearing of the case resumes today.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
