Ruto case to be heard next year

Business

By Judy Ogutu

The fraud case against suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto and seven others has been set for hearing on January 24.

The case will be heard for 12 days before Nairobi Chief Magistrate, Mr Gilbert Mutembei. The first four days will be January 24 to 27.

Senior State counsel,Vincent Wohoro told the court the State has lined up 24 witnesses to give evidence.

The case was on Tuesday morning pushed to afternoon after it emerged that the file that had been placed before Mutembei did not have High Court orders directing him to carry on with the case.

Mutembei said it would be unprocedural to continue with the matter that did not bear High Court order.

On October 15, High Court Judges Jeanne Gacheche, Leonard Njagi and Roselyn Wendoh dismissed a constitutional case filed by Ruto and directed the case to proceed before the magistrate’s court.

Ruto is charged alongside businessman Joshua Kulei, Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita, Berke Commercial Agencies, Priority Limited, Celtic Multi-Systems Limited and Somog Limited.

He is alleged to have fraudulently obtained Sh96 million from Kenya Pipeline Company claiming that he was in a position to sell 1.745 hectares of land belonging to the Ministry of Natural Resources situated in Ngong Forest.

The suspended minister allegedly received Sh9.9 million in 2001. He is alleged to have further received another Sh57.8 million for the sale of two parcels of land and another Sh28 million for a parcel of land in the same forest.

Mwaita is charged with three counts of abuse of office after he allegedly consented to the transfer of the land before it was degazetted.

They were charged in 2004 and the case has never commenced because the constitutional court stopped it. KPC lost Sh272million in the land transaction.

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