Lawyer Kioko Kilukumi presented before senior principal magistrate Martha Mutuku, a document in which former Attorney-General Amos Wako had advised the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, currently the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to address certain gaps before arraigning the accused.
On Thursday, it emerged that some of the gaps are present in the current trial despite Mr |Wako warning in 2006 that the cases could collapse.
Mr Kilukumi said the ongoing case against the accused is a waste of court’s time because all the deficiencies identified in the anti-graft investigations were not addressed and they remain controversial to date.
Gaps the office of Attorney General raised in the prosecution of suspects in the ongoing Anglo Leasing trials have not been addressed, the anti-corruption court heard on Thursday.
Lawyer Kioko Kilukumi presented before senior principal magistrate Martha Mutuku, a document in which former Attorney-General Amos Wako had advised the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, currently the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to address certain gaps before arraigning the accused.
On Thursday, it emerged that some of the gaps are present in the current trial despite Mr |Wako warning in 2006 that the cases could collapse.
Mr Kilukumi said the ongoing case against the accused is a waste of court’s time because all the deficiencies identified in the anti-graft investigations were not addressed and they remain controversial to date.
“Top prosecutor and EACC officers sat and considered the AG’s opinion. They knew it would be a waste of time to commence this criminal proceeding but proceeded to do so without addressing all the gaps,” he said.
The gaps highlighted in court papers included a lack of evidence indicating that Parliament was not consulted over the Anglo Leasing security contracts and that funds had been provided for the purchase of the security items.
The Attorney General reckoned that there was no formal statement from the Central Bank of Kenya and the Treasury denying the two were not aware of the approval of loans linked to the Anglo Leasing contracts.
There were also concerns that the Anglo Leasing contracts had State and Cabinet approvals and that the Finance minister was lawfully empowered to exempt security items from procurement regulations, given the sensitivity involved.
“Some of those recommended to be charged in some files are also key prosecution witnesses in other files. It is highly unlikely that these accomplices will give any evidence favourable to the prosecution and may turn out to be hostile witnesses in court.
“They should, therefore, be replaced,” said Mr Wako in the statement dated October 18, 2006.
The court heard that the EACC had also highlighted the shortcomings.
It also emerged in court yesterday that one of the firms linked to the Anglo Leasing contracts, Sound Day, had not been paid for goods it supplied on October 21, 2004.
“Sound Day had been supplying equipment to the police since 1993 without any complaints being raised, said Gideon Rukaria, an investigator at the EACC.
Mr Rukaria was testifying in a suit where former senior State officials and businessmen are facing charges related to the multi-billion shilling security tenders that the government has termed irregular.
A previous case fell apart in 2005 because of a lack of evidence.
On Thursday, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Mutuku requested and was allowed to proceed to the High Court to challenge, the defence relying on the two reports.
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