UPDATE: The National Youth Service (NYS) case has been halted mid-way after a suspect disclosed they did not have their lawyers.
It was revealed that Ben Gethi's lawyer had died and was yet to be buried.
“On grounds of passing on of the lawyer and for lack of representation the hearing can’t proceed today,” ruled the judge in the case in which Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru was expected to testify.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has arrived in court to testify against a former PS in Ksh791 million National Youth Service (NYS) scandal.
In a statement on Wednesday, May 19, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) indicated that the governor had arrived at the court precincts as a state witness.
She is expected to provide her statement regarding the scandal in which former Devolution & Planning PS Peter Mangiti and former NYS boss Nelson Githinji are accused of embezzling the funds in 2015.
"Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru to testify as prosecution witness against former Devolution & Planning PS Peter Mangiti and former NYS boss Nelson Githinji over fraudulent payment of Ksh791 million from NYS," read the statement in part.
The scandal broke in 2015 while Waiguru was serving as the Cabinet Secretary of Devolution, the Ministry in charge of NYS.
In 2016, Waiguru was, however, cleared by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) after claiming that she had acted as a whistleblower.
The scam involved the loss of Ksh791 Million and an alleged conspiracy to steal Ksh695 Million at the service.
The then EACC boss Halakhe Waqo, in a letter addressed to the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, at the time, stated that after investigations they found no evidence to incriminate Waiguru in the unscrupulous dealings at the youth service.
He further added that there were no grounds to prosecute the former CS.
“The commission has conducted investigations on various allegations touching on the National Youth Service and the Ministry of Devolution and National Planning. So far, our investigations have not established any evidence to warrant an adverse recommendation against the former Cabinet Secretary, Ms Anne Mumbi Waiguru,” the said letter read.
After the scandal broke, Waiguru resigned in 2015 amid mounting pressure from various quarters including the Opposition to leave office, after more graft cases were unearthed in her Ministry.
She explained that she stepped down because the attacks on her were also affecting her family.
