Jillo Kadida and Lucas Barasa
1 September 2008
Nairobi — Three Cabinet ministers are among nine MPs from across the political divide who are facing court charges.
Charges against the nine include corruption, theft, irregular acquisition of public land, and incitement.
The three ministers are deputy Prime Minister and Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi, Agriculture minister William Ruto and Education minister Samson Ongeri.
Others MPs facing charges are Ferdinand Waititu (Embakasi), Simon Ng'ang'a Mbugua (Kamukunji), Sammy Mwaita (Baringo Central), Zakayo Cheruiyot (Kuresoi), John Mututho (Naivasha) and Amina Abdallah (Nominated).
MPs facing charges ought to step aside and the cases be concluded speedily -- although all should be treated as innocent until proved otherwise, the Law Society of Kenya chairman Okongo Omogeni said last night.
He added there was a need for a Code of Conduct for ministers and MPs, which should be enforced with guidelines on what should be expected of one facing court.
While there was a clear Code of Conduct and Ethics for public servants, the situation was much more lenient for MPs, Mr O'Mogeni said.
The ministerial Code of Conduct was silent on how to deal with a minister involved in a criminal case, but it specified that all ministers are also bound by the Public Officer Ethics Act.
The section cited bars public officers from using their office to improperly enrich themselves and also prohibits improper use of office to acquire land or other properties.
It is silent on ministers facing charges for offences that might have been committed outside the office, however.
Most of the MPs contacted by the Nation on Monday refused to comment, saying to do so might be contempt of court.
Mr Mudavadi is facing a suit over illegal land allocation. He was taken to court by Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission seeking to recover a house in Nairobi's Woodley estate, which was acquired from the City Council.
Hearing
The anti-corruption agency says the house was corruptly acquired. The case, number HCC. NO 280/07, is scheduled for hearing on September 25 according to the commission.
Prof Ongeri was also sued by the commission over a piece of land in Kisii, which was reserved for a town market, but was later allocated to the minister, says KACC. An order preserving the land pending the determination of the case was granted by Kisii High Court.
Mr Ruto is facing allegations of corruption. The Eldoret North MP and seven companies are facing a charge of obtaining by pretence. It is alleged the minister and the companies obtained money from Kenya Pipeline Company under pretence that they were in position to sell a piece of land to the company.
But the minister never took plea as his lawyers raised constitutional issues saying the charge violated his rights.
The case could not go on at the magistrate's court because of the pending constitutional case.
A three-judge bench comprising of Mr Justice Joseph Nyamu, Lady Justice Roselyne Wendoh and Mr Justice George Dulu was appointed to handle the matter.
However, it could not still proceed as Justice Nyamu disqualified himself, so the case was referred to Chief Justice Evan Gicheru to set up another bench.
Embakasi MP Ferdinard Waititu is facing corruption charges. He was taken to court in relation to a garbage collection tender awarded to his company by the Nairobi City Council.
Mr Waititu, a former Nairobi deputy mayor, has been charged with attempting to bribe a commission's investigator.
He is facing three counts of making an offer of Sh230,000 to Mr Fred Lolkurum. The money was allegedly offered on three different occasions and through a third party in amounts of Sh100,000, Sh80,000 and Sh50,000. The case was filed in July last year and the MP is out on Sh500,000 cash bail.Newly elected Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua is accused of stealing Sh1.1 million. Mr Mbugua was also accused of obtaining Sh1.4 million through pretence and issuing two bad cheques.
Pretending
He allegedly obtained Sh700,000 from Mr Patrick Thuo and Sh750, 000 from Mr Benson Nyangau by pretending that the motor vehicles he was offering for sale were registered with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and issued them with log books.
It is also alleged that he issued two bad cheques to Mr Munsukh Kholsa and Mr Harpreet Singh while knowing that his account held at the NIC Bank had insufficient funds.
Mr Mbugua, who has not been sworn in as a MP, denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Cecilia Gathua. He was released on a cash bail of Sh300, 000.
A car dealer, Mr Mbugua first appeared in court on August 15 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Earlier, a warrant for his arrest had been issued on August 1, following his failure to appear in court.
Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita is also in court in connection with illegal allocation of public land. The MP is said to have allocated a plot belonging to the Department of Survey in Nakuru to his brother, Mr Hillary Kipkorir. Mr Mwaita is a former Commissioner of Lands.
The Government had put up staff houses on the land in question while part of it included a parking yard and storage space for equipment belonging to the department.
The court was told that on March 4, Mr Kipkorir erected a fence around the property. According to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, which took him to court, Mr Mwaita's decision was a breach of trust and abuse of office. The court had issued a temporary order stopping the MP and his brother from dealing with the land or transferring it to another party.
MP Zakayo Cheruiyot of Kuresoi is also facing an abuse of office case. A former permanent secretary for Internal Security, Mr Cheruiyot is in court on charges relating to the Anglo Leasing scandal. He is accused of irregular award of a tender for installation of equipment at the CID forensic laboratory.
Appointment
The case was referred to the Constitutional court after the MP challenged the charges and is awaiting appointment of a bench to hear the application. The MP was sued in February 2005.
Naivasha MP John Mututho has also been taken to court by the anti-corruption commission over Sh41 million he was alleged paid unlawfully by Kenyatta National Hospital.
The case will be heard on November 17 and 18. Mr Mututho is also facing another charge of issuing a false document and obtaining cash by pretences. The case was mentioned on February 12, but the accused is said to have been indisposed for the past two hearings.
Nominated MP Shakila Abdalla has been charged with inciting residents to riot and causing injuries to two police officers. The incident allegedly took place on August 15 in Lamu.
The MP was freed on a bond of Sh100,000 or cash bail of Sh20,000. The case is scheduled for hearing on September 23 this year. Ms Abdalla has since gone to court to appeal for the stay of 50 families evicted from Manda Island in Lamu District.
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