By NATION reporters
Posted Sunday, April 17 2011 at 20:26
Posted Sunday, April 17 2011 at 20:26
The acquittal of Eldoret North MP William Ruto continues to draw reaction with some civil society leaders calling for revival of the case.
The National Youth Sector Alliance official Emmanuel Dennis said revelations that key witnesses were not called to testify in the case showed there was complacency in the way the matter was handled.
The Sunday Nation reported that in July 2007, Mr Ruto appointed Ms Hellen Chege Njue to the board of trustees of the Coffee Development Fund, a corporation for providing credit and advances to coffee farmers.
Ms Njue was a finance manager at Kenya Pipeline Company, which was responsible for paying Sh272 million for plots in Nairobi’s Ngong forest, a case which landed Mr Ruto, former President Moi’s aide Joshua Kulei and former Lands Commissioner and current Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita in court.
And her testimony, according to lawyers, should have been critical to the case.
But she was not called to testify. Thirteen witnesses could not be found and five died while the case was going on.
“It is like Kenyan courts cannot be relied upon to dispense justice. The AG needs to look at the files again and revive the case,” said Mr Hassan Omar of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
No explanation has been given on why such a valuable witness would not be called to testify. Efforts to get a comment from chief public prosecutor Keriako Tobiko were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, senior principal state counsel Moses O’mirera reported a death threat to the police in Machakos yesterday. “I have no doubt that a powerful nominated MP is behind the threatening call. I have refused his advances to twist the case in his favour. It is a land case in Kitengela area and he has an interest,” said O’mirera.
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