The Director of Public Prosecution(DPP), Noordin Haji, asked the Court of Appeal to dismiss Sirisa Member of Parliament, John Waluke's, appeal.
He rather pleaded with the appellate court to uphold the decisions made by the lower courts, which jailed Waluke for 67 years with an alternative of paying a Ksh700 million fine.
"Applicant was properly convicted and sentenced and is, therefore, until the impugned decision is overturned, serving a lawful sentence emanating from a concurrent finding of the subordinate court and the superior court.
"This Court has held that an order for stay of proceedings, particularly stay of criminal proceedings, is made sparingly and only in exceptional circumstances," the DPP stated on Wednesday, November 2.
Waluke, who was detained at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, asked the court to maintain the bail terms he was granted by the High Court in 2020.
Azimio la Umoja party leader,Raila Odinga, also called for Waluke's release. The former Prime Minister questioned why other leaders in the government were freed from their cases, yet the MP was serving his case in prison.
"Now, another issue. People who are charged with murder are forgiven and approved to be cabinet secretaries.
"Others with multi-billion corruption cases are being left to go free. On the other hand, our people are being persecuted. Sirisia MP Waluke's case is a civil matter," Odinga lamented.
Waluke surrendered to the police at Milimani Law Courts following a court ruling that upheld his 67-year jail sentence.
He was first convicted and sentenced by a city magistrate’s court in 2020 alongside Grace Wakhungu after they were found guilty of frauding the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Ksh297 million.
The judge ruled that the charges against him were proved beyond a reasonable doubt and that the evidence submitted was factual.
Waluke may lose his parliamentary seat if he fails to attend eight sittings of the House in a session, according to Article 103 of the Constitution.
