High Court suspends the prosecution of OiLibya senior managers in Sh1.5m burglary case

NAIROBI, KENYA: OiLibya senior managers in Sh1.5m burglary case have obtained temporary orders barring the lower courts from prosecuting them.

When they appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku for plea taking last week, the court was informed that the high court has issued temporary orders stopping their prosecution pending the hearing of the case on August 15, 2018.

“Temporary conservatory orders be and is hereby granted staying the arraignment, taking plea by the petitioners an all any other subsequent proceedings in Chief Magistrate’s Court pending inter-parties hearing of the notice of motion,” said High Court Judge Pauline Nyamwea.

The manager of Libya Oil Kenya (OiLibya), Duncan Ziyanai Murashiki is among the officials who obtained the said orders.

The officials are Joyce Nekoye Wanjala (territory manager), Nancy Waeni Mutune Kwinga (retail manager), Antony Mugo Muraya (network manager), Stanley Njoroge Marete (a contractor for OiLibya) and Libya Oil Kenya.

They are accused of breaking into the Juja Road Service Station from where they allegedly stole 10 units of CCTV system cameras worth Sh400,000, digital video recorders valued at Sh200,000, gas cylinders valued over Sh200,000, lubricants, car wash vacuum cleaner valued Sh30,000 and fuel, all valued at Sh1,530,000, the property of Maced Limited.

In the second count of the intended charge sheet, the five are said to have had damaged five door pad locks all valued at Sh 12,500 on June 7,2017 at Juja roda service station in Nairobi within Nairobi County.

The lawyer to the suspects Ochieng Oduor strongly opposed to their plea taking urging the court to consider the fact that they have already obtained stay orders.

“There are conservatory orders in place stopping the prosecution of my clients pending the hearing and determination of the application at the high court,” said Oduor.

In January 30, 2018 a court declined an attempt by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to terminate the case.

Miliami Law Courts senior resident magistrate Hellen Onkwani had declined to allow the request to withdraw the case under Section 87 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, instead ordering the DPP to give reasons for seeking to terminate the case against Mr Murashiki, a Zimbambwean.

The request to terminate the case against the five was strongly opposed by the complainant company, Maced Limited, which had leased the business premises by OiLibya on a three-year contract.