Uasin Gishu senator Jackson Mandago was on Monday charged with intimidating a witness in the controversial 1.1 billion lice overseas education scholarship case.
Lawyer Kemboi Kiptoo, who is representing the affected families, raised concerns in court, claiming that Senator Mandago was engaging in activities that could potentially interfere with witnesses involved in the case.
The former governor, along with two other county officials, Joshua Lelei and Meshack Rono, are charged with conspiracy to steal Shs1.1 billion earmarked for educational scholarships for Uasin Gishu students in Canada and Finland. has been done.
Kiptoo, who appeared virtually before Senior Chief Justice Alois Ndege in Nakuru, urged the court to expedite the hearing of the case, saying that Senator Mandago’s actions were potentially coercive and disruptive. requested.
“The matter needs to be resolved quickly as the suspect, who is a prominent figure, is moving through the county in a manner that is likely to disturb witnesses. He has also made threatening statements,” Kiptoo said.
But prosecutors, represented by Senior Deputy Public Prosecutor Hassan Abdi, downplayed the claim and dismissed it as baseless.
Mr. Abdi maintained that the state had full responsibility for its witnesses, but that such allegations had not come to their attention.
He suggested that Mr Kiptoo should contact the office to address the issue.
“The Democratic Party is in charge of the witness and we cannot let the lawyer’s emotions override our position. Let him seek an audience with us,” Abdi said.
In this case, Mr. Mandago, Mr. Lelei and Mr. Lono allegedly made money from a Kenya Commercial Bank account in Eldoret registered with the Uasin Gishu Educational Trust Fund between March 1, 2021 and September 12, 2021. He is jointly charged with conspiracy to steal.
Senator Mandago is also facing other charges related to abuse of power, including allegedly entering into arbitrary memorandums of understanding on behalf of the Uasin Gishu county government with various universities in Finland and Canada without the resolution of the county assembly. There is.
Rono and LeRae are charged with forgery for allegedly forging a trust declaration document for the purpose of fraud.
The state has arranged for at least 200 witnesses to testify against the three suspects.
The defense team, led by Milan Bouyer, requested an extension of time to prepare for the trial.
Brewyer said the prosecution had submitted a large amount of documents and the defense needed time to review and pursue them.
The court granted a one-month extension and the matter will be mentioned on February 12.