Court to make ruling on DP Gachagua's Sh7.4b graft case tomorrow

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. [Samson Wire, Standard]

The Anti-corruption court in Nairobi will tomorrow, Thursday rule on an application by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji to withdraw the Sh7.4b graft case against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and nine others.

On Wednesday, the DPP told Magistrate Victor Wakumile during the hearing of the case that his decision to withdraw the case was arrived at after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) failed to provide full disclosure of evidence implicating the DP and his co-accused in the corruption charges.

The DPP highlighted a lack of evidence in his application and blamed the DCI for the failure to complete investigations.

Senior Counsel Kioko Kilukumi who represented Gachagua noted his [DP's] arrest was politically motivated calling for the charges to be dropped.

"Without completing the investigations the first accused [Gachagua] was arrested on Friday, July 23, 2021, at 3 am in Mathira, Nyeri County. Why would a police officer be in anybody's residence at 3 am?" Kilukumi posed.

"After the arrest, Gachagua was subjected to intense humiliation, driven at neck-break speed from Nyeri to DCI headquarters. He was at DCI at 9 am but was not presented in court until 26 July 2021," he added.

Kilukumi submitted the treatment accorded to Gachagua by the police officer was a clear misuse of power.

"We are submitting, that was an extra-judicial punishment. There was no reason to detain Gachagua from Friday to Monday," he said.

The lawyer's remarks come after the DCI lead investigator petitioned the anti-graft court to dismiss charges against Gachagua.

Obadiah Kuria claimed in a sworn affidavit the immediate former DCI Director Goerge Kinoti instructed him to fix Gachagua without having conducted thorough investigations.

Kuria claimed there were loose ends in the multi-million billion case and proceeding with it would be prejudicial.