- The officer said the details of Sound Day had not been fully ascertained when he made a recommendation for prosecution.
- The witness said he was also surprised that not a single prosecution witness has testified to any wrongdoing concerning the contract.
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An anti-corruption court has been told the prosecution of the Anglo-leasing corruption case may have been premature.
Investigating officer Ignatius Wekesa told chief magistrate Felix Kombo that charges were preferred in the absence of details concerning the existence and registration of a company (Sound Day) at the center of the trial.
“At the time the case was filed, we did not know the directors and neither were we aware that Sound Day had had previous engagements with the government of Kenya since 1989 and had been supplying security apparatus," Wekesa told court on Wednesday.
The officer said the details of Sound Day had not been fully ascertained when he made a recommendation for prosecution.
Wekesa was being cross examined by senior counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi in the trial of two former state officials and three businessmen facing a charge of conspiracy to defraud.
He concurred with documents presented in the trial court showing Sound Day was a registered company and incorporated in the British Virgin Islands in September 21, 1989.
Wekesa concurred that in light of the documents ascertaining the existence of the company, the charges “were no longer tenable” having been built on the presumption that it was a fictional entity.
He said he may have made a “semantic error” when asked whether his former observation was “erroneous.”
The witness said he was also surprised that not a single prosecution witness has testified to any wrongdoing concerning the contract.
When he was shown the evidences of the witnesses including former Attorney General Amos Wako and his legal team who gave the contract a clean bill of health, the witness said those were their “own personal opinions” and insisted there had been a conspiracy.
Wekesa was shown and made to read out the evidence of former Treasury and OP big wigs including John Berech, Francis Kirimi, and P. Oyula who according to the lawyer were consistent in their testimonies that all legal procurement procedures had been followed.
Abdullahi pointed out to the witness that “all the evidence in court is contrary to the assumptions he made when he drew his conclusion concerning the case.
The lawyer pointed out the evidence of Dorcas Achapa, formerly of the office of the attorney general stating that the contract was valid.
It further stated that the government had a legal obligation to pay contractual fees and that it was normal with nothing untoward.
He also produced the evidence of John Berich of the Central Bank, which also shows the validity of the contract.
A statement from the police department by Levin Mwandi was also produced in court detailing the receipt of goods from Sound Day.
“The evidence from the prosecution witnesses states that all were valid contracts according to the law,” Abdullahi said.
The investigator told the trial court that he had premised his investigations and findings on the contract dated December 17, 2003,
The witness was also said he was not aware of any other overt or covert meetings between the involved parties or the accused persons before court.
The court heard that the project had been approved by the Cabinet to boost security in the face of incessant terrorist attacks.
In the case former government officials Dave Mwangi, Joseph Magari, Joseph Onyonka and two businessmen Deepak and Rashmi Kamani are charged with conspiracy to defraud the government through an irregular contract.
Hearing continues.