The DPP on Wednesday petitioned the chief magistrate’s court to issue summons to the duo to attend court on December 2 when the case would be mentioned after stalling for over 10 years.
The Supreme Court on November 5 ruled that the mandate to start extradition proceedings falls with the public prosecutor, not the Attorney-General.
Mr Gichuru and Mr Okemo face a jail term of up to 14 years each if they are extradited to Jersey and found guilty of the racketeering charges preferred against them.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has set the stage for the resumption of the extradition case against former Kenya Power CEO Samuel Gichuru and former Energy minister Chris Okemo, who are wanted in the UK to face theft and money laundering charges.
The DPP on Wednesday petitioned the chief magistrate’s court to issue summons to the duo to attend court on December 2 when the case would be mentioned after stalling for over 10 years.
The extradition process stalled due to legal challenges and a fight between the DPP’s office and the Attorney-General over who should institute the action.
The Supreme Court on November 5 ruled that the mandate to start extradition proceedings falls with the public prosecutor, not the Attorney-General, paving the way for the DPP to push for Mr Gichuru and Mr Okemo’s transfer to the Jersey Island.
The pair is wanted by the Royal Court of Jersey for accepting bribes from foreign businesses that won tenders at Kenya Power with the proceeds wired to the island territory.
“We have already located the file and served that letter on advocates of the accused persons – Fred Ngatia, Waweru Gatonye and Ogeto Otachi. We are now waiting for the court to give the summons,” said special public prosecutor Taib Ali Taib yesterday.
The DPP hired Mr Taib from the private practice to deal with some of the high-profile and complex criminal cases.
The British High Commission forwarded the request to extradite Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru to the DPP when it was still a department at the AG’s office on June 6, 2011.
Before the request, the Jersey court had issued warrants for the arrest of the two on April 8, 2010, and April 20, 2011.
Mr Okemo was the minister for Energy between 1991 and 2001 while Mr Gichuru was the Kenya Power managing director between 1984 and February 2013.
Mr Okemo was charged in the Royal Court of Jersey with 13 counts relating to the transactions in the accounts on July 1, 1999, and 2001.
On the other hand, Mr Gichuru faced 40 counts for offences allegedly committed under Jersey law between 1991 and June 28, 2002.
Mr Gichuru and Mr Okemo face a jail term of up to 14 years each if they are extradited to Jersey and found guilty of the racketeering charges preferred against them.
“A person who is guilty of an offence under this article shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years or to a fine, or both,” says sections of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law.
The duo is wanted to face 53 counts linked to “commissions” paid by companies to win Kenya Power tenders and held in a Jersey account in foreign currencies: £4.45 million; $3.2 million and kr790,000 (totalling Sh1.04 billion at current exchange rates), according to Jersey court papers.
The scheme was executed through Windward Trading Ltd — the entity through which Mr Gichuru reportedly received hefty kickbacks to award suppliers lucrative tenders during his two-decade tenure at the helm of Kenya Power that ended in 2003.
Mr Gichuru in August 1986, set up Windward Trading in Jersey as the entity which would receive bribes disguised as ‘commissions’ or ‘consultancy fees’ from firms that won Kenya Power tenders.
Walbrook Trustees (Jersey) Ltd were the administrators and face of the company and would wire kickbacks received to Mr Gichuru and Mr Okemo.
However, in May 2002, Walbrook filed a suspicious transaction report with Jersey authorities and refused to make any further payments to Mr Gichuru from these accounts, leading to a freeze on the accounts.
The scheme was brought into sharper focus by Mr Gichuru’s messy divorce case in which his wife lifted the lid on his secret offshore accounts, prompting Jersey authorities to further investigate the matter.
Windward on February 24, 2016, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing proceeds of crime and three counts of acquiring profits from criminal conduct.
Kenyan authorities have never opened criminal proceedings against the duo, whose bribery scheme cost taxpayers billions of shillings and hurt the development of power plants — ushering in power blackouts and expensive electricity.
