Blow to Mungatana as court rejects bid to settle fraud case out of court

By , K24 Digital
On Wed, 19 Aug, 2020 14:38 | < 1 min read
Danson Mungatana
Former Garsen MP Danson Mungatana at the Kibera Law Courts on August 19, 2020. PHOTO | CHARLES MATHAI
Former Garsen MP Danson Mungatana at the Kibera Law Courts on August 19, 2020. PHOTO | CHARLES MATHAI

Kibera Chief Magistrate's Court on Wednesday rejected an application by former Garsen MP Danson Mungatana and his business associate Collins Paul Waweru to drop charges against them, saying they have already settled the matter with the complainant. 

Magistrate Abdul Lorot ruled that the application to defer the plea taking lacked merit and dismissed it.

"They had an agreement but the decision by the prosecution to charge them was arrived at because it met the public interest threshold," said Lorot.

On Tuesday, August 18, the state prosecutor Nancy Kerubo told the court that the Ministry of Defence is involved as a complainant.

The MP and his co-accused pleaded not guilty and were released on Sh200,000 cash bail to charges of forgery of documents and obtaining money by false pretence.

The former MP appeared at the Kibera Law Courts on Wednesday morning where he faced charges of conspiracy to defraud a businesswoman of Sh1 million.

Their lawyer had asked the court to drop the charges against them after they began out-of-court settlement talks with the complainant.

However, prosecutors rejected the move on grounds that the duo's offences were criminal in nature.

According to the charge sheet, the two accused obtained the money from Ann Wairimu Thumi and Cynthia Muthoni Kamau with intent to defraud.