NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 17- The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has denied reports that corruption charges against former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich in the Sh63 billion Arror, Kimwarer Dams project scandal have been dropped.
The Business Daily reported Friday that two charges in the case against the former Cabinet Secretary had been dropped.
A statement from the DPP’s office however, stated that the cases are still pending in court and Rotich together with four others are facing various offences which include conspiracy to defraud, abuse of office and failure to comply with the law.
The statement further stated that when the case came up for plea on the amended charges in May, Rotich objected to the plea being taken on two counts.
According to Rotich, the two counts did not specify what particulars he was to respond to under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act and the Public Finance Management Act and Magistrate Douglas Ogoti allowed the application by the prosecution to amend the charges within seven days.
On May 26, Rotich was charged afresh as the prosecution removed the names of former Principal Secretaries Kamau Thugge and Susan Koech who had been charged with him.
The two will testify against Rotich during the hearing.
The DPP also removed the names of 20 Italians who were still at large from the charge sheet and are meant to be charged separately.
The DPP said the evidence in the case remained the same and they will not be introducing new documents neither shall they be introducing new witnesses.
“Currently there are two active cases, we had indicated we have no intention whatsoever to consolidate the two as much as they may share some accused persons, majority of the accused persons are different in the two cases,” the prosecution said.
The former CS denied all the charges read out to him alongside all the others accused who had been charged alongside him.
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