A Nairobi court has granted the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) 16 more days to complete investigations and present evidence against Trans-Nzoia Governor George Natembeya.
The decision by the Anti-Corruption Magistrate Zipporah Gichana followed an application by the commission, which said it was yet to complete investigations.
Appearing before the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday during the mention of the case weeks after Natembeya's arrest and bail, EACC told the court that it was yet to compile the evidence and needed more time to present it.
"Despite the hullaballoo witnessed during the arrest of Governor Natembeya, the EACC is yet to provide the necessary evidence that they will be relying on," Ndegwa Njiru, one of the lawyers representing the governor, said.
Following the request by the Magistrate, Gichana, granted the commission its request and gave them until June 16 when the case will be mentioned again, to present the evidence.
The court allowed the EACC to finalize the investigations within the two weeks and submit the necessary evidence against the county chief.
The announcement of more time for EACC comes amid growing speculation over the integrity of the case.
Many had expected the commission to present concrete evidence following the governor’s high-profile and dramatic arrest, which was marked by intense public scrutiny and political tension.
However, as of Tuesday, the commission had yet to produce any documents to support the case, documents that will form the backbone of its corruption suit against Natembeya. The governor had been arrested on May 19.
Narrating on the events that took place during his arrest, the governor had revealed that even when arresting him, EACC could not explain to him why they were arresting him despite him enquiring for reasons.
"The officers instructed an AP police officer to handcuff me, but I firmly refused, demanding to see the warrant of arrest. Instead of complying, one of the officers forcefully lifted me, carried me to their vehicle, and sped off to the EACC headquarters," the governor recounted during a homecoming event at his Trans Nzoia county on May 27.
The governor was freed on May 20 on a Ksh1 million bond or a cash bail of Ksh500,000 after being charged with graft.
The governor, who faces two counts of conflict of interest and one count of unlawful acquisition of public property, was also barred from accessing his office for the next 60 days.
