The court on Monday, January 23, allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to drop Ksh1.1 billion corruption charges against former National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) CEO Geoffrey Mwangi.
The former NHIF boss was dragged to court over alleged loss of Ksh1.1 billion during his tenure from February 2016 to November 2018.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, lawyer Steve Ogolla gave a detailed account of the proceedings, noting that the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution's (ODPP's) move to drop the charges was due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Appearing before Trial Magistrate Victor Wakumile, the DPP provided adequate reasons for dropping the charges.
"... (the ODPP) reached a conclusion that the evidence was not sufficient then informed the court that he wanted to terminate," Ogolla stated.
The advocate referenced Article 157 of the Constitution, Sub-Article 6 that empowers the DPP to discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered any criminal proceedings instituted by his office or through an application filed in court.
Ogolla pointed out that Mwangi had initially written to the ODPP to terminate the case against him.
"The purpose of today's ruling was for the court to state whether there are sufficient grounds to either acquit or proceed with the charges. The Magistrate stated that there is no reason to deny the application," he noted.
According to Ogolla, the Magistrate's ruling was also based on Article 157 Sub-Article 11 of the Constitution which states: In exercising the powers conferred by this Article, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall have regard to the public interest, the interests of the administration of justice and the need to prevent and avoid abuse of the legal process.
Magistrate Wakumile gave the prosecution 15 days to review the entire file and come up with a way forward.
Mwangi was charged alongside 18 others over the alleged embezzlement of Ksh1.1 billion in the Fund.
The DPP later dropped the charges on Webtribe- a company that Mwangi was accused of working in cahoots with. The former NHIF boss, in 2022, sought the DPP to drop the charges following the withdrawal of charges against the company.
At the time, however, Justice Esther Maina dismissed Mwangi's application and noted that the DPP had demonstrated enough reasons to proceed with the charges.
