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Oilibya staff theft case to proceed

chacha

Justice Chacha Mwita. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The High Court has declined to stop the prosecution of four senior employees of a leading oil company accused of breaking into a petrol station and stealing property valued at Sh1.5 million.

Justice Enock Chacha Mwita allowed the move by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to commence a fresh criminal case against senior Libya Oil Kenya Limited employees.

Justice Mwita directed the four senior employees, Joyce Nekoye Wanjala, Nancy Waeni Mutune Kwinga, Antony Mugo, Stanely Njoroge to appear before magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot to plead to two counts. Declining to bar the DPP from prosecuting the four and the General manager of Libya Oil Kenya, a Zimbambwean national Mr Duncan Ziyani Murashiki, Justice Mwita said: “I have found no sufficient evidence to warrant the court to interfere with the decision to charge the suspects.”

The accused had opposed a fresh bid by the DPP to charge them after the withdrawal of an earlier case against them.

Oilibya Kenya and the five had argued that they cannot be retried on the same facts by the DPP who had earlier allowed the discontinuation of the trial over the same burglary and theft charge.

"The fact that initial criminal case was withdrawn does not in law prevent the DPP from instituting fresh charges on the same facts since they were discharged unfer Section 87 (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) which is not a bar to subsequent or future prosecution on the same facts" Justice Mwita said in his 17 page judgement.

Justice Chacha further said he could only interfere with the DPP’s decision to file the fresh case if only “the petitioners satisfied the court that he (DPP) exercised his discretion contrary to the law or abused his office.”