Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji has suffered a setback as the court thwarts his attempt to pin former KPLC top managers to the fake transformer scandal.
In the case former KPLC managing directors Ben Chumo and Ken Tarus are charged alongside nine others.
Taxpayers lost Sh 201 million for the tender to supply faulty transformers in 2018. According to the prosecution, investigators managed to save Sh 207 million which would have been fraudulently stolen if the contract payment proceeded.
On May 30, 2022, the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (ODPP) applied to amend the charge sheet to include new terminologies. According to the state, upon evaluation of the evidence on the court record and pending evidence to be adduced at trial, there were material reasons which would necessitate the amendment of the charges currently facing the accused persons.
Further, the ODPP had argued that the proposed amendments would enable the court to arrive at a fair determination of the matter and that it would not prejudice the rights of the accused persons.
However, the court ruled that the nature of the amendment is to alter the initial theory of the prosecution’s case mainstream prejudicing the accused persons in their defences.
According to Chief Magistrate Felix Kombo of Milimani Anti-Corruption Court, an examination of the proposed amended charge sheet shows that fundamental changes are proposed in the majority of the charges in an attempt to disadvantage the accused persons.
” when the term prejudice is altered to unlawful, that essentially changes the offence and it becomes a new offence,” said the Chief Magistrate.
The Court ruled that the amendment coming after the testimony of 33 witnesses, it is prejudicial to the accused persons. “In my view, this entails prejudice, it is like subjecting the accused persons to a new trial in the middle of another. The motion for the amendment of the charge sheet fails in its entirety and it is therefore dismissed” ruled the court.
The court allowed the prosecution to proceed with the case using the initial charge sheet, however, the prosecution requested for adjournment of the case to a further date to give room for consultation from the authorities in relation to the court ruling. The case will be mentioned on August 25, 2022, to confirm the position of the ODPP.
