DPP
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has denied claims of delaying a decision on ‘Chickengate file’ which was submitted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
The EACC had recommended for the prosecution of three former employees of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) over corruption. DPP Keriako Tobiko, through Senior Assistant Director of Public Communication Beatrice Omari, said it has handled the matter expeditiously after receiving the file for perusal and advice from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on July, 19.
A daily newspaper on Friday ran an editorial claiming that the DPP has taken too long to deal with the ‘Chickengate’ file, which recommended prosecution of former IEBC officials James Oswago (CEO), Kenneth Karani (Senior Procurement Officer), Hamida Kibwana (staff), and businessman Trevy Oyombra who served as an agent of Smith and Ouzman in Kenya. They are alleged to have conspired with officials of UK-based printers of election ballot papers, Smith and Ouzman, to pocket millions in bribes in a scandal code named ‘Chickengate’.
The scandal derives its name from the fact that a UK court unearthed that the officials, while soliciting and negotiating for bribes via e-mail, talked of ‘eating chicken’ to disguise the vice they were engaging in. In February last year, a London court convicted top officials of Smith and Ouzman of corruption charges.
The printing company was fined £1.3 million (Sh162,483,097) as well as settle a £881,158 (Sh110,291,154) confiscation order applied for by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and pay another £25,000 (Sh3,126,112) in costs. Two of the company’s officials are also serving varying jail terms.
In a statement, Omari said Keriako Tobiko wrote to EACC last month seeking more details after a joint meeting between his office and the Commission discussed critical issues identified by a team of prosecutors he had appointed to review the file.
She said the team of prosecutors had, among other materials, advised for inclusion in the file evidentiary material obtained from UK’s Serious Fraud Office, as well as witness statements from the persons who handled the Mutual Legal Assistance Requests. EACC had sought MLA Requests from SFO to beef up on its investigations after Smith and Ouzman were convicted of corruption charges.
“The DPP on 5th September 2016 formally wrote to EACC directing that the issues identified and discussed during the joint meeting be expeditiously addressed and that the MLA material from the SFO and supporting witness statements be supplied to enable him make a final determination of the matter,” said Omari.
She said EACC has confirmed that the issues raised by the DPP are being addressed and that the additional material requested will be forwarded to him in due course for conclusive action on the file.
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