The Anti-Corruption Court has ordered that the graft case against former Kenya Ports Authority managing director Daniel Manduku be heard as soon as possible.
Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile granted the decision after dismissing Manduku’s appeal to extend the hearing because his counsel, Ochieng Oduor, was unable to appear in court.
Manduku stated that his counsel was preoccupied with another issue at the High Court.
Manduku, the incumbent MP for Nyaribari Masaba, and Juma Fadhili Chigulu both denied the graft charges against them.
So far eight witnesses out of over 30 have since testified in the case.
The prosecution opposed the defence application, saying they were ready to proceed with the hearing with two witnesses who travelled from Mombasa to testify in the case.
However, the magistrate ordered the case to proceed without further delay, saying the case has been severally adjourned because of the defence-making application.
Last year, the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, through senior state prosecutor Eva Kanyuira, told the court they will seek to prove that Manduku’s action caused the state to lose Sh1.4 billion.
