Africa-Press – Kenya. Former Director of Land adjudication wants the high court to allow Milimani Magistrate Felix Kombo to proceed with the hearing of her graft case.
Lilian Wangiri Njenga asked the High court to give Kombo a green light to hear the Sh60 million corruption case.
Njenga together with former Kipipriri MP Amos Kimunya and Junghae Wainaina, an official of Midlands Ltd had been charged, tried and acquitted by anti-corruption chief magistrate Felix Kombo over accusations of abuse of office and corruption-related offences.
Kombo acquitted them two years ago for lack of evidence.
Recently, High Court judge Esther Maina overturned the decision, saying the trial magistrate erred as they should have been placed on their defence.
Her decision came after the DPP appealed the trio’s acquittal.
As she reinstated the case, Maina directed that the accused appear before the presiding magistrate of the anti-corruption court Lawrence Mugambi for further directions.
Mugambi subsequently declined to have the matter proceed before Kombo and allocated it to a different magistrate, Peter Ooko.
“Kombo having made his mind clear through the decision he made which the High court disagreed with, I do not think it was proper and fair to give him this file,” Mugambi said.
It is that decision that has prompted Lilian to file a review before the Anti-corruption High court division seeking to have the directive revised.
Lilian argues for Kombo who was seized of the matter having heard evidence from all the 17 witnesses.
She says Kombo had an opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses, an opportunity Ooko will not have because the prosecution had closed its case and is not legally possible to re-open the matter with a view to recalling any of the witnesses.
She claims when the High court overturned their acquittal, it did not direct that the matter be heard by any other magistrate other than Kombo.
The case before the Magistrates court revolves around a Sh60 million land in Nyandarua county.
Kimunya is said to have effected the transfer of the land to a private company-Midlands Limited-on June 30, 2005, when he served as a Land Minister.
He was charged alongside Lilian Wangiri and Junghae Wainaina, an official of Midlands Limited.
The charges alleged that Kimunya and Njenga used their offices to allocate to Midlands 25 acres of public land in Nyandarua valued at Sh60 million. They were also accused of abuse of office, failing to disclose a private interest and fraudulent disposal of public property.
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