Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua stands next to police vehicles bought by his county. A court has ruled that he will face charges for the irregular purchase of 16 motor vehicles. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Justice Isaac Lenaola dismissed the petition by Dr Mutua seeking to stop his prosecution on allegations that his constitutional rights would be violated.
He also ruled that assertions by the governor that he was not informed of the allegations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) lack merit.
The governor claimed in his petition that he was not responsible for the purchase of the vehicles since the cabinet of the county assembly had discussed and authorised the purchase.
Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua will now face abuse of office charges over irregular procurement of 16 vehicles - his official car and 15 others for the county - after the High Court dismissed his petition to block prosecution.
Justice Isaac Lenaola dismissed the petition by Dr Mutua seeking to stop his prosecution on allegations that his constitutional rights would be violated.
The Judge said Friday that assertions by the governor that he was not informed of the allegations against him by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) lack merit.
He also rejected claims that Dr Mutua will not get a fair trial before the Machakos chief magistrates court.
“The petitioner (Dr Mutua) literally jumped the gun because he has basically presented his defence of innocence in the trial court and not before the High Court, a mistake on his part,” the Judge said in his ruling.
Dr Mutua had said that his rights to expression and information had been violated but Mr Lenaola dismissed the claims, saying there was full disclosure of information being looked for by EACC investigators.
The governor claimed in his petition that he was not responsible for the purchase of the vehicles since the cabinet of the county assembly had discussed and authorised the deal.
Justice Lenaola also said in the ruling that Dr Mutua is answerable to the Senate for how resources allocated to the county are used and therefore "should be held culpable if he breaches the law".
Prosecutors in the case told the court that “the governor obtained endorsement of the purchase by his cabinet through misrepresentation and concealment of material facts and facilitated the purchase of the pre-used motor vehicles through single sourcing and at higher price than the market prices.”
The prosecutors further revealed that Dr Mutua “presided over the distribution and allocation of the motor vehicles without ensuring that they had been inspected to ensure that the County of Machakos received value for its money.”
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