Kethi Kilonzo at the Milimani law courts Tuesday where she was charged alongside IEBC official Godfrey Ninito with stealing IEBC voters acknowledgement slip valued at Sh5. [PHOTO: EVANS HABIL/STANDARD]

By ISAIAH LUCHELI

NAIROBI; KENYA: An attempt by Kethi Kilonzo’s lawyers to have the court defer her pleading to the charges preferred against her failed on Tuesday in court.

Senior Principal Magistrate Doreen Mulechu dismissed an application by lawyer Fred Ojiambo who had sought to have the taking of the plea suspended on the grounds that the charges constituted an illegality as the charge sheet was defective.

After the magistrate’s verdict, lawyer Kethi who was in the dock, pleaded not guilty to three charges while her co-accused Godfrey Ninito, an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission employee, denied two charges. The prosecution told the court they had lined up 30 witnesses to prove their case.

Kethi and Ninito are both charged with stealing an IEBC acknowledgement slip serial number 0002058624 between November 19, 2012 and June 27 this year valued at Sh5 belonging to the electoral body.

False documents

Kethi faces another charge of handling stolen property. The lawyer is also accused of uttering false documents. According to the charge sheet, she on the same day at Wote knowingly and fraudulently uttered forged documents to Salad Boru, the IEBC returning officer.

Ninito was accused that as the Manager Electoral Planning and Logistics at the IEBC headquarters, neglected to keep in safe custody voter acknowledgement slip booklet serial numbers 041173 a duty which he was dutifully bound to perform.

Quoting Article 50 (2) (b) of the Constitution, Ojiambo while opposing the charges told the court that the prosecution had failed to furnish the accused with the detail of the offences they were facing and termed it as an affront to the law.

The Article 50 (2) (b) states that: “Every accused person has a right to fair trial which includes the right to be informed of the charge with sufficient details to answer it”.

The counsel argued that by the time the orders were being made to arraign the accused in court, there was no charge sheet and the defence only saw the charge sheet a few minutes before the court session commenced and urged the magistrate to defer the pleading to the charges by the accused.

The prosecution, however, submitted that the charges complied with the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code and asked the magistrate to dismiss the application.

While dismissing the application the magistrate said the charges were found in the penal code and added that an illegality does not mean that the charges were not in the statute.

Ojiambo said the accused would appeal the court decision and filed an application seeking to have the accused furnished with the statements and the list of witnesses.

Mulechu released the two on a cash bail of Sh100,000. Hearing commences from November 18 to 22.