The High court on Friday afternoon sentenced Defence Permanent Secretary (PS) Saitoti Torome to six months in jail after he was found guilty of contempt.
Justice Joseph Sergon issued the sentence after the PS failed to obey court orders directing him to pay Sh17.2 Million to a family who surrendered their estate to the government in 2006.
As per the Constitution, contempt of court offence is punishable by a jail term of up to six months, or a fine not exceeding Sh200,000.
[caption caption="PS Torome Saitoti receiving instruments from his predecessor Ambassador Kaberia Kirimi"]
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A judge can, however, choose to punish an offender with both or just one of the two punishments.
The ruling was made following a case filed by Kay Construction which has been pursuing payment for the rehabilitation of Laikipia Air Base’s runway done in 1994.
In 2011, arbitrator Joseph Thuo ordered the government to pay Kay Construction Sh335 Million for the service with a 16 percent interest rate until the amount is fully paid.
The Ministry failed to honor the agreement forcing the construction group to file a contempt of court case.
The two agencies have been in out of court discussions in an attempt to settle the matter but no deal had been forthcoming.
In 2016, Kay construction agreed to accept Sh850 Million from the Ministry provided that it was to be paid by May 2017.
[caption caption="File image of Defence PS Torome Saitoti"]
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The payment, was, however, not made even though it had already received approval from the Pending Bills Committee, the Treasury, and the Attorney General's office.
