Companies

Geothermal company chief reads malice in corruption case

simiyu

Dr Silas Simiyu: My accusers are driven by malice, not public interest. PHOTO | FILE

Suspended managing director of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) Silas Simiyu has defended himself against a corruption case filed in court, saying the suit facing him is as a result of malice.

Dr Simiyu says that Patrick Kinyua, a “concerned citizen” who filed the case is part of a group keen on his removal from office.

“The intended criminal prosecution is to achieve that goal and not to protect the public interest at all,” says Dr Simiyu in his defence filed in court.

Mr Kinyua has alleged that concerns against Dr Simiyu were reported to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and parliamentary committees on Energy and Public Investment but no action has been taken so far by these institutions, hence the need for the court’s intervention.

Mr Kinyua is seeking the court’s permission to institute a private prosecution against Dr Simiyu on abuse of office.

However, Dr Simiyu says that Mr Kinyua is fully aware that investigations are ongoing and that, the decision whether or not to prosecute can logically be taken upon completion of investigations, recommendations of the investigating agency and evaluation of evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

READ: Geothermal chief steps down pending corruption probe

Dr Simiyu denies all allegations of criminal wrongdoing, adding that Mr Kinyua carries the burden of proving the veracity of “these allegations which he gathered from social media, contrived media reports and his own fertile imagination.”

The court is expected to deliver a ruling on Friday on whether Mr Kinyua’s application should be allowed to proceed or not.

The MD says he is aware all the issues Mr Kinyua has raised are the subject matter of investigations and that he had recorded statements with the EACC in September last year and was interrogated in May this year.

All members of the company’s tender committee have recorded statements with the EACC.

Additionally, members of the board and, in particular, the finance and human resource committees and some employees have also recorded statements with the anti-graft body.