The High Court has overturned the acquittal of former Kipipiri Member of Parliament Amos Kimunya in a Sh60 million land fraud case.
Justice Esther Maina ruled that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji had established a strong case.
“The court is satisfied that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the accused persons,” Justice Maina said.
The judge ordered Kimunya and his co-accused, former director of Land Adjudication and Settlement at the Ministry Lillian Njenga to present themselves before Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, to defend themselves.
The judge said the trio will be put on defence on six counts after quashing one of the charges, which she noted was defective.
Kimunya, who was then the Minister for Lands and Housing, was charged with abuse of office and conflict of interest among other charges, over the transfer of the land in Nyandarua county, which had been set aside for the Ministry of Agriculture for seed multiplication and also acted as a farmers training centre.
Kimunya together with Njenga and Junghae Wainaina, an official of Midlands Ltd had been acquitted by anti-corruption chief magistrate Felix Kombo stating that the prosecution failed to call a crucial witness in the trial.