Former Local Government Permanent Secretary Sammy Kirui can finally have a sigh of relief after the High Court freed him from prison in a Ksh283 million cemetery land saga.
A report by Business Daily indicated that the PS was set free on Wednesday, September 23, after spending two years in prison where he reportedly faced hardship.
He had been jailed in 2018 alongside former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo and two other suspects; former Nairobi City Council legal secretary Mary Ngethe and Alexander Musee, a former City Hall official.
Gakuo passed away while in prison in October 2018 after falling ill while waiting to be freed on bond.
High Court judge John Onyiego ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the PS had abused his office.
Musee and Ngethe's sentences were, however, upheld as the judge found them guilty therefore dismissing their appeals that their sentences were excessive.
"There was no reason to interfere with the sentences imposed by the lower court owing to the gravity of offences committed.
"I do not find any illegality in imposing a three-year jail term. I have no reason to interfere with the same considering the gravity of offence," stated the judge.
The three had been released on bond of Ksh5 million each after spending some months in prison.
The judge had earlier refused to award them bail, but is said to have reviewed his decision shortly after the death of Gakuo.
The suspects had filed an appeal in which they claimed that they faced hardship and horrible living conditions in prison.
Ngethe and Musee were found guilty of giving a misleading report claiming that the tender committee had agreed to buy the 120-acre plot in Mavoko town.
