NAIROBI, Kenya, May 26 – A Nairobi court has allowed the withdrawal of a criminal case against a man accused of forging an engineering degree certificate to secure employment at Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), ordering the release of his cash bail and closure of the case file.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Rose Ndombi permitted the withdrawal of the case against Victor Ochieng Odhiambo under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code, effectively discharging him from the proceedings.
In orders issued on May 26, the court directed that the matter be withdrawn, Odhiambo discharged, the Sh300,000 cash bail refunded to the depositor and the case file closed.
“It is hereby ordered that the matter is withdrawn under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code and that the accused is discharged,” the ruling stated.
The case stemmed from Odhiambo’s arrest at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on March 18 after arriving from South Korea aboard an Etihad Airways flight.
At the time, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said he was wanted over alleged forgery offences and uttering a false document.
Investigators had accused him of forging a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics degree certificate allegedly issued on December 19, 2008, and using it to secure employment as a Senior ICT Officer at Kenya Pipeline Company.
Odhiambo was later arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts, where he denied the charges and was released on a cash bail of Sh300,000 or an alternative bond of Sh500,000 pending trial.
However, the prosecution subsequently moved to withdraw the case before the defence hearing, prompting the court to invoke Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Under Kenyan law, a withdrawal under Section 87(a) results in a discharge rather than an acquittal, meaning the prosecution may reinstitute the case in future should new evidence emerge.
The court’s decision brings the current proceedings to an end, with Odhiambo free from the charges unless fresh proceedings are initiated.
