Kemri Davy Koech has been slapped with a fine of Sh19.6 million or serve six years in jail for corruptly acquiring public funds.
Dr Koech was convicted and sentenced by corruption courts senior principal magistrate Victor Wakumile.
Former director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) Davy Koech has been slapped with a fine of Sh19.6 million or serve six years in jail for corruptly acquiring public funds.
Dr Koech was convicted and sentenced by corruption courts senior principal magistrate Victor Wakumile.
Mr Wakumile said he will allow the scientist to pay the fine in two tranches of Sh9.8million starting October 15, 2021.
While invoking article 29 of the Constitution, Mr Kumile said Dr Koech is now 70 and cannot be subjected to “cruel treatment” by being handed over to prison authorities.
“Because of the current Covid-19 pandemic this court takes judicial notice of the difficult economic times people are undergoing through I find it fit to exercise my discretion and show mercy to Koech, now 70,” Mr Wakumile said in his judgement.
He noted that the law requires a court to show mercy and compassion while passing sentence.
The magistrate said Dr Koech had returned the malaria research money he had acquired corruptly to the government with interest.
“Therefore no loss was suffered,” Mr Wakumile ruled.
Dr Koech faced three counts of acquiring public property.
He was charged that on August 17, 2006 in Nairobi he fraudulently acquired Sh800,000 the property of Kemri.
On December 12 2006 he was convicted of irregularly acquiring Sh6 million. He was also charged with corruptly acquiring Sh12.5million from the research institution.
The alternative counts were that he used his office to corruptly confer to himself monies held in the account of Vector Biological and Control Research (VBCR).
The magistrate said the Economic and Anti-Corruption Act (Aceca) requires offenders to be punished to serve as a lesson to would-be offenders.
In all the three counts and their alternatives, he was ordered to pay the mandatory fine of Sh100,000 or serve a jail term of 12 months.
Dr Koech will also serve a sentence of 12 months.
The sentences will run consecutively, which means is each offence and fine will be independent.
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