NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 24 – A ruling on digital strategist Dennis Itumbi’s application to mount a private prosecution against Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi over government acquisition of a parcel on land in Ruaraka is set for Friday.
An anti-corruption court which heard Itumbi’s preliminary prayers on Tuesday said it will determine matters enumerated in the petition before advising on further steps.
Itumbi filed a 193-page application on November 18, seeking to independently try Matiangi over a Sh1.5bn payment made by the education ministry during his tenure as the education secretary for the acquisition of a piece of land which the court later determined was public property.
“Demonstrable grounds exist for believing that a grave social evil is being allowed to flourish unchecked because of the inaction of a pusillanimous Director of Public Prosecution and Office of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission who are guilty of a capricious, corrupt or biased failure to prosecute the 1st Respondent,” Itumbi told Milimani Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti.
Itumbi also cited a decision in which a three-judge bench of the High Court established the compulsory acquisition of the land on which two schools sit fell short of public purpose since the land was public property.
He sought to prosecute Matiangi for abuse of office, wilful failure to comply with the law on management of public funds, financial misconduct and conspiracy to defraud.
In their ruling in June 2019, Justices Bernard Eboso, Elijah Obaga and Kossy Bo had also faulted the National Land Commission (NLC) for advising the education ministry to proceed with the acquisition of a 13.77-acre parcel in Ruaraka on which two public schools sat.
“We find that the compulsory land acquisition should not have happened in the first place. One cannot compulsory acquire what is an already public land,” ruled Justice Obaga.
Two companies belonging to a renowned businessman Francis Muburu – Afrison Export Import Limited and Huelands Limited – had filed a claim with NLC over the compulsory acquisition of the land without compensation, prompting the suit.
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