The High Court has rejected a plea from former Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, his wife and their co-accused person to stop his Ksh351 million corruption case pending the hearing of their petition challenging prosecution.
In a brief ruling, Justice Nixon Sifuna of Milimani Anti-Corruption Court declined to suspend and instead struck out the petition by accused persons on grounds that wa Iria's lawyer Ndegwa Njiru altered court documents without permission of the court.
"This Petition raises fundamental issues that the court will at the opportune time determine. I have however noted that it has been amended without the leave of court and therefore improperly. Anything done in the name of the law, has to be done in accordance with the law. I therefore find this to be an impropriety, but which in my view should be rectified rather than sanitized or ignored," the judge ruled.
The judge, however, struck out the petition and ordered the parties to file afresh.
"Amended petition amended on April 26, 2024 and filed in this petition on April 4, 2024, is hereby struck out, and the petitioners granted leave to regularly amend and file a fresh amended petition that they will have amended as they wish," he added.
Wa Iria had approached the High Court challenging their prosecution terming it unconstitutional and illegal claiming the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) has no mandate to conduct investigations.
More to follow...
