The wife of former Governor of Murang’a Mwangi Wa Iria and his brother who are accused of theft of Ksh351 million have been freed unconditionally owing to a High Court order suspending their prosecution.
Discharging the suspects, Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki has this evening said that the high court orders bind his court and can not commence prosecution against former governor wa Iria, his wife Jane Waigwe Kimani, his brother-in-law Solomon Mutura Kimani and seven other suspects.
"This court has been served with two high Court orders by Justice Cecilia Gitua and Nixon Sifuna staying the Director of Public Prosecutions' (DPP) decision to prosecute the 10 suspects pending the determination of the petition in High Court, and this court is bound by the same," Nzyoki ruled.
The magistrate went ahead to discharge the former governor's wife Jane Waigwe Kimani and her brother Solomon Mutura Kimani who were arraigned unconditionally without imposing any bond terms.
Nzyoki also declined the DPP's plea to issue a warrant of arrest against seven suspects who did not appear before him for plea-taking.
He directed the case be mentioned on April 29, 2024, for an update on the High Court position.
The magistrate gave orders after he was served with the High Court flown from Murang'a to Nairobi via a chopper hired by wa Iria who had challenged his prosecution together with his wife and brother-in-law.
Immediately after the two orders were tabled in court by defence lawyers led by Wilfred Nyamu, Ndegwa Njiru and Peter Wanyama, the magistrate downed his tools saying subordinate courts are subject to superior court orders.
The lawyers urged the the court to defer the plea taking in the matter saying former governor Wa Iria, his wife and Mutura had filed a petition number E004 of 2024 before Muranga High Court which granted orders barring the DPP, Inspector General of Police, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from arresting and prosecuting them.
The suspects were expected to face charges of conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, money laundering, dealing with suspect property, conflict of interest, abuse of office and unlawful acquisition of public property.
The ex-governor is among nine individuals facing allegations of procurement fraud between 2015 and 2016 at the Murang’a County government.
On April 14, 2024, the DPP recommended the prosecution of the suspects for irregularly awarding tenders and other procurement irregularities totalling Ksh351 million.
The DPP noted that investigations carried out by EACC revealed that the suspects fraudulently awarded tenders to Top Image Media Consultancy Limited and Value View Limited with disregard for conflict of interest.
