Kenyan businessman Don Bosco Gichana was on Tuesday sentenced to five years in prison and asked to pay a fine of Ksh15 million (Tsh 300 million).
The 2013 aspirant for the Kitutu Chache parliamentary seat pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and money laundering.
The controversial businessman was accused of electronically filing false tax returns to the US State Department of Treasury internal revenue service between 2008 and 2011.
During the hearing, Gichana was accused of using several names in false pretence while filing the tax returns.
Gichana is set to be released once the fine is paid after the court ruled that he had completed his jail term after being detained in Tanzania since 2013.
“The court has made its decision and as a family, we thank God for this eventuality. We are now looking for means to raise the cash so that we can have Don back,” his elder brother Dunstan Nyakundi who was in Arusha told the Standard.
The vibrant politician was arrested in Arusha in 2013 during a visit to his lawyer Median Boastice Mwale who was also charged with crimes of conspiracy and money laundering.
Delay in the case resulted in a public outcry over the manner in which the case was being handled.
Efforts by Deputy President William Ruto, Opposition Leader Raila Odinga and Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka to have Gichana released were futile.
Kalonzo in 2016 appeared as a lawyer during a hearing in an effort to hasten the release of the businessman.
In the same year, the politician failed to attend his mother’s burial after being denied freedom to return to the country.
The tycoon gained prominence after he donated a Hummer to the ODM leader before the 2007 General Elections.
The hummer is believed to have given immense visibility to Raila’s campaign, raising his opinion ratings significantly.
“The Hummer donation was the turning point in that particular campaign. It was such a master stroke because it gave Raila a lot of visibility and for the first time, his opinion ratings soared above 20 per cent,” stated Mr Robert Wafula Buke, who was a key member of Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign team.
The embattled politician was responsible for setting up the ODM youth wing termed Young Kenyans for Raila which spread throughout the country.
