A case in which 10 traffic police officers have been charged with receiving bribes has been adjourned again and the prosecution is now accusing the defence team for employing delay tactics to scuttle the case.
State counsel Winnie Ndubi told Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo, sitting in Nakuru, that the case had stalled since 2015 because of the negative tactics employed by defence lawyer Steve Kabita and his team.
“It is clear that the defense is not ready to proceed with the matter for the last two years,” she said.
The accused persons Beldine Ngome, Raban Gikonyo, Peter Gachie, David Kantai, Esther Wadia, Arthor Hamed, John Mikhail, David Murai, Muriu Gikonyo and Muthira Gachie were arrested in 2015 following a sting operation by anti-corruption sleuths but are yet to take plea.
Yesterday, Kabita sought to have the matter deferred for 14 days saying that one of his clients was undergoing treatment at Agha Khan Hospital in Kisumu adding that he would be discharged after two weeks.
The accused persons unsuccessfully moved to the High Court to stop their prosecution in 2015 but their application was later dismissed due to lack of merit.
The accused who are yet to take plea since 2015 face fraud and corruption charges before a Nakuru court. They were arrested on October 30, 2015 during a successful take-down operation following the conclusion of a major investigation by the EACC.
The accused persons had moved to the high court seeking orders to bar the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from charging them with abuse of office.
