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Mangiti loses bid to stop prosecution in NYS case

Mangiti (near right) when he was arraigned in court/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 25 – Former Devolution PS Peter Mangiti has lost a bid to stop his prosecution in the Sh791 million NYS case.

Judge Hedwig Ong’undi declined to quash the criminal proceedings saying the High Court has no jurisdiction to evaluate evidence linking him to the scam.

According to the judge, doing so would be going beyond her jurisdiction in a case filed before the judicial review division.

“It is only the trial court upon hearing the witnesses that should determine whether there was any conspiracy and if so, whether the applicant was involved or not,” she declared.

Justice Ong’undi held that Mangiti should challenge the charges he is facing before the trial court since he has not demonstrated how the DPP and EACC acted outside their mandate in recommending his prosecution.

“The applicant has not demonstrated how the decision by the respondents to indict him violated any of his constitutional or any other written law or rule of natural justice,” she ruled.

Mangiti had sought to stop his prosecution on grounds that it was based on an illegality, procedural impropriety and abuse of power.

It was his argument that his role in the procurement process was limited to appointing of the ministerial tendering committee and signing of the contract of the award of tenders.

But the DPP and EACC had urged the court to dismiss the application insisting that they recommended his indictment independently after receiving and analysing that evidence presented was sufficient to charge him.

The former PS is facing a charge of  attempting to induce the Senior Deputy Director General in charge of Administration, Adan Gedow Harakhe, “not to follow up the matter relating to the conspiracy,” to steal money from the government.

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The NYS money, according to prosecutors, was siphoned through fraudulent payments to firms whose registration details are questionable.

Mangiti is out on a Sh3 million cash bail.

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