Mr Gakuo pleaded to be freed on bond saying he will abide by all conditions placed on him.
Further, Mr Gakuo said he was not a flight risk and his appeal has high chances of success.
Mr Gakuo was jailed together with former Local Government PS Sammy Kirui for abuse of office in connection with the purchase of cemetery land valued at Sh283 million.
Former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo has pleaded with the High Court to free him on bond, pending an appeal he has filed against a three-year sentence imposed on him 10 days ago for abuse of office.
Urging the court to consider his age and ill-health, Mr Gakuo pleaded to be freed on bond saying he will abide by all conditions placed on him. Further, Mr Gakuo said he was not a flight risk and his appeal has high chances of success. He said that he is above 60 years and suffers from several conditions. In the court papers, Mr Gakuo said the case forced him in and out of hospital, adding that he has been “suffering intermittently from high blood pressure, hypertension and chest problems”.
He said that he has no previous conviction and does not pose any threat to the community and eyewitnesses.
Mr Gakuo was jailed together with former Local Government PS Sammy Kirui for abuse of office in connection with the purchase of cemetery land valued at Sh283 million.
The two were sentenced to three years in jail each and fined Sh1 million, for abuse of office and failure to comply with procurement rules. They were jailed alongside former Nairobi City Council legal secretary Mary Ng’ethe and chairman of the tender committee Alexander Musee.
Ms Ng’ethe was sentenced to three years in jail and pay a fine of Sh52 million, failure to which she will serve an additional one year. Mr Musee was sentenced to three years also and fined Sh32 million or serve an additional year in default.
The two were found guilty of giving a misleading report purporting that the committee had agreed to buy the controversial 120-acre plot in Mavoko. They also used a false valuation report to award the tender.
The court said the former officials ought to have stopped the payment of Sh283.2 million to Naen Rech Ltd for the land.
Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti had ruled that Mr Gakuo and Mr Kirui were in a position to cancel the tender but failed to do so.
However, Mr Gakuo faults the reasoning arguing that the responsibilities in the procurement chain are delineated to various parties and if not challenged, the decision will set a bad precedent. Further, he faulted the court saying the magistrate convicted him yet there were glaring inconsistencies in the evidence.
“There is real possibility of irreparable hardship and agony from wrongful incarceration because you cannot repay lost years in a person’s life,” he said in a statement.
He further argues that the court failed to objectively evaluate the evidence tabled before it, thereby arriving at a wrong decision.
“This appeal discloses exceptional circumstances of a conviction clearly entered in ignorance and disregard of law,” Mr Gakuo said.
According to him, the court failed to cite any provisions of the procurement Act and laws that would have given him the legal authority to terminate the procurement proceedings.
