All was well for Okemo and Gichuru until the Jersey bombshell

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Nambale MP Chris Okemo (left) and former Kenya Power and Lighting boss Samuel Gichuru. Photo/FILE 

By PAMELA CHEPKEMEI
Posted  Thursday, December 22  2011 at  22:30

The year 2011 marked the beginning of trouble for Nambale MP Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power boss Samuel Gichuru.

They had been going about their lives undeterred until a bombshell was dropped in July 2011.

They were required in the Island of Jersey for trial and arrest warrants had been circulated through Interpol.

The two learnt through press reports that they were being sought for money laundering and abuse of office offences.

Before the matter was brought to court by the AG, they rushed to court on June 3, to stop the intended extradition.

But their attempt flopped when the High Court refused to grant any orders on the basis that their case was speculative.

On July 11, the Director of Public Prosecutions Mr Keriako Tobiko lodged the proceedings at the chief magistrate’s court.

Sensing that they had no choice, their lawyer pre-empted an application by the prosecutor Mr Patrick Kiage to have arrest warrants issued against the two.

Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru found themselves in an unfamiliar territory on July 11 when they appeared jointly for the first time in court.Their lawyer Fred Ngatia told the magistrate not to bother issuing the arrest orders because his clients were ready to present themselves to the court.

They were asked to secure their release by paying Sh1 million cash bail each and deposit their passports in court.

The warrants of arrest against Okemo and Gichuru were issued by the Chief Justice of Jersey, an Island within the jurisdiction of UK, after the two were accused of “concealing of transferring the proceeds of crime money amounting to Sh900 million,” between 1986 and 2002.

Apart from Kenya, Interpol sent a red notice for the two in Tanzania, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Mr Okemo was Energy minister from 1999 to 2001 and Finance minister from 2001 to 2003. Mr Gichuru was the managing director of KPLC between 1983 and 2003 when it was partially privatised.

The two have put up a spirited fight to stop their extradition, an indication that the legal battle is likely to last longer in the courts.

Recently, the extradition proceedings which are still at the preliminary stage came to a halt after Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru rejected the special prosecutor Mr Kiage.

The trial magistrate Ms Grace Macharia upheld their arguments that the prosecutor was not validly appointed and had no authority to prosecute the case.

The matter moved to the High Court again after the DPP challenged the decision by the magistrate to stop Mr Kiage form prosecuting the case.

The hearing of the DPP’s application is scheduled for February next year.