Digital Strategist Dennis Itumbi, on Thursday, March 9, presented a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Noordin Haji, and the Ethic and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC), pushing for the expedition of charges on allegations surrounding the acquisition of land in Ruaraka.
In the letter authored by his lawyer on February 9, Itumbi urged the two agencies to finalise investigations on former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i alongside 23 other accused persons.
He gave the DPP an ultimatum of seven days, failure to which he would take it upon himself to initiate prosecution against Matiang’i in court as a private prosecutor.
The strategist expressed his dissatisfaction with the pace at which the DPP and EACC were handling the case despite the possibility of taxpayers losing Ksh1.5 billion.
He alleged that the DPP had exhibited hesitation in proceeding with the prosecution of the persons mentioned.
According to him, the agencies had enough evidence to institute charges against Matiang'i and other persons implicated in the allegations of illegally paying for publicly owned land.
"You told the court that the National land Commission sought to cleanse its questionable actions in paying Ksh1.5 billion to Afrison Export Import Ltd and Hueland Limited as compensation for compulsorily acquiring their land for government use,” the letter read in part.
Itumbi, a close ally of President William Ruto, has in the past been vocal over the Ruaraka land saga- accusing Matiang'i of conniving to defraud Kenyans of over Ksh1.5 billion during the acquisition of land meant to host Ruaraka and Drive-in Primary schools.
In 2020, Itumbi made his first attempt to have Matiang'i prosecuted over the land saga in a case filed in the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi.
However, the Chief Magistrate presiding over his case ruled that the case could not stand since Itumbi failed to elaborate on how he acquired the evidence adduced.
On his part, the tough-talking Matiang'i repeatedly dismissed the allegations maintaining that the process followed the due procedure.
While addressing the media on February 9, the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Amin Mohamed, noted that his agency was investigating Matiang'i on a raft of cases. However, he did not disclose the exact details of the cases under scrutiny.
If acted upon, the renewed drive to prosecute Matiang'i will add to the former Cabinet Secretary's recent woes.
Matiang'i, on Tuesday, March 7, was grilled at the DCI headquarters, where he was accused of conspiracy to commit a felony and publishing false information on an alleged police raid at his Karen home.
