By Karanja Njoroge

Gilgil Hills Academy Director Isaac Kamunya has been charged with trying to bribe a Standard Group journalist.

Mr Kamunya offered our reporter, Mr Alex Kiprotich Sh70,000 to stop him from publishing a story on the unexplained death of a pupil at his school.

Gilgil Hills Academy Director Isaac Kamunya leaves Nakuru Law Courts where he was charged with three counts of corruption, on Tuesday.

[PHOTO: LUCAS THUO/STANDARD]

Yesterday, Kamunya appeared before Nakuru Chief Magistrate Wilbroda Juma, and faced three counts of corruption.

The charge stated that he committed the offence on March 13, at Stem Hotel.

The pupil, Linda Koech, died at the school on July 27, last year, in unclear circumstances.

Kamunya was also charged that on March 12, at an unknown location through an emissary, he offered Sh20,000 to Mr Kiprotich as inducement not to publish the story.

The other count stated that on December 1, last year, at the Standard Group offices in Nakuru he offered an unspecified amount of money to the journalist to stop him from running the story.

Mr Kamunya who was represented by lawyers Ndeke Gatimu and Robert Ndubi, was released on a Sh200,000 bond and surety of the same amount.

Kamunya was dressed in a grey suit and wore dark sunglasses.

Curious wananchi shoved inside the packed courtroom to catch a glimpse of him as photojournalists clicked away.

Earlier, his lawyers had asked the court to caution The Standard against publishing reports prejudicial to their client.

"The Standard has published stories against the accused, which amount to trying him before the media, in a matter the same media house has an interest," Ndubi said.

But the magistrate declined to issue the caution, saying whatever has been published will not form part of the trial. The case will be mentioned on March 24, and heard on April 24.

Last week, The Standard on Sunday carried the story of Linda,12, who died in school last year, but her parents are yet to get a conclusive report on the cause of death.

When they visited the school they got contradicting accounts on the death of their daughter. They also claimed the school management accused them of spoiling the institution’s reputation by seeking answers.

When the Standard Group reporter sought to publish the story, Kamunya allegedly tried to bribe him on several occasions to put the matter out of public knowledge.