A consortium of four lobby groups led by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) now want the prosecutors who unsuccessfully sought to jail former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich over the alleged Sh63billion Kimwarere and Arror Dams scandal jailed for allegedly bungling the case.
KHRC, Transparency International, Katiba Institute, and Africa Center for Open Governance (Africog) have sued prosecutors Geoffery Obiri and Oliver Mureithi, accusing them of mishandling Sh63 billion Arror and Kimwarer dams’ case.
They cite prosecutorial misconduct on the part of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The four lobbies are seeking orders to lift immunity granted to the ODPP to prosecute the two state counsel for what they termed as dereliction of duty in the trial of suspects implicated in the scandal.
The organisations accuse the prosecution of failing to lead witnesses, resulting in the acquittal of former Treasury CS Henry Rotich and others.
They are seeking a declaration that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Renson Ingonga and prosecution counsel Geoffrey Obiri and Oliver Mureithi violated the Constitution by their “reckless dereliction of duty” and the failure to exercise their independence in the trial.
“An order be and is issued that the finding of constitutional violation in (a) above is a relevant factor to be recorded and considered should Geoffrey Obiri and Oliver Mureithi seek a state office.” The petition reads in part.
They argue that the actions of the prosecution counsel were reckless dereliction of duty and not in good faith, and which does not entitle them from claiming immunity under section 5 of the ODPP Act, 2013.
The petition similarly seeks to bar the government from using public funds to compensate damages if Rotich and the acquitted co-accused persons win their case for wrongful prosecution.
They also want the court to fine the two prosecutors over what they term as “neglect of prosecutorial duty” to serve as a lesson.
During the December 14, 2023 ruling, Magistrate Eunice Nyutu acquitted the accused persons saying the prosecution had failed to lead the case and that there was no evidence tabled in court to show that the former CS and eight others failed to follow procurement laws in the Sh63billion Arror and Kimwarer dams scandal.
The court also blamed the prosecution for only presenting 8 witnesses out of the 49 that it had initially intended to call.
“This would appear to be a prosecution-led acquittal. All the accused persons in this case are hereby acquitted due to lack of evidence as a result of the reckless dereliction of duty by the prosecution.” Magistrate Nyutu ruled.
