Lawyer protests high bail terms for GDC boss, 8 others

Nicholas Weke, Abarham Saat, Peter Omenda, Godwin Mwawongo, Caleb Mbaya, Bruno Linyiru and Saisi having been on the GDC tender committee in 2012, are accused of flouting procurement procedure/CFM

Nicholas Weke, Abarham Saat, Peter Omenda, Godwin Mwawongo, Caleb Mbaya, Bruno Linyiru and Saisi having been on the GDC tender committee in 2012, are accused of flouting procurement procedure in the awarding of a tender for rig move services valued at Sh42,746,000 per rig move totalling Sh1.7 billion to Bonfide Clearing and Forwarding Limited in 2012.

Saisi was also charged with abusing the office of Company Secretary by “improperly conferring a benefit to Bonfide to wit a contract in respect of rig move services at a price that was in excess of prevailing market prices.”

Simiyu was also charged with abuse of office and as accounting officer, for contravening the Public Finance Management Act “by failing to ensure that the resources of the company were used efficiently and economically.”

Having denied the charges, the accused applied to be released on reasonable terms which were set at a Sh8 million cash bail (for Simiyu and Saisi) and Sh5 million for the rest.

Lawyer Kioko Kilukumi acting for Simiyu opposed the terms set, describing them as prohibitive and tantamount to denying the accused bail “as is their constitutional right.”

Kilukumi had applied to have Simiyu released on a cash bail of Sh100,000 which would have been equal to the amount paid by the accused in a police bond on Monday.

The defence teams argued that by setting such “unprecedented” terms, the court was in essence delivering judgement in a case that was yet to be heard by punishing their clients.

Chief Magistrate Kennedy Bidali was however adamant that the amounts set are in line with Judiciary’s bail and bond guidelines.

He advised the aggrieved parties to make an appeal in the higher courts or renew their application at a later date.

Kilukumi informed the court that they would indeed be taking up the first option saying the bail terms set, “smack of a conspiracy,” against his client and his co-accused.

The defence teams also declined to take up hearing dates until their grievances are heard by the High Court.

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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