Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's Ksh 357 million graft case hearing had to be postponed after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) failed to appear in court.
The trial Magistrate, Eunice Nyutu, did not explain why the prosecution failed to appear to prosecute the case. The court rejected to allow an adjournment of the case's hearing earlier this month.
The ODPP reportedly sought to postpone the case hearing until the outcome of their application dated November 3, 2023, in which they seek to withdraw the case against four accused persons, namely Hardy Enterprises Limited, Toddy Civil Engineering Limited, Antony Mwaura, and Rose Njeri.
The defense counsel requested that the case against Sonko and his co-accused persons be dismissed under Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) due to the inability of the complainant (the ODPP) to appear in court.
Did you read this?
.jpg)
"Because the complainant is absent, there is no case against our client Sonko..."We urge you to release the accused in this case," the court was told.
The Magistrate, however, refused to dismiss the case against Sonko and the others.
"The DPP's conduct is deplorable. "It is unfortunate that the DPP has chosen to obtain an adjournment by simply twisting the court's arm," the Magistrate stated.
The court referenced Article 160 of the Constitution, which provides that the Judiciary, as defined in Article 161, shall be subordinate to the Constitution and the law and shall not be subject to the control or direction of any other person or authority in exercising judicial authority.
The court deferred the case on the condition that the ruling be presented to the National Council for Administration of Justice for discussion on the prosecution's conduct in the case and other issues.
