Murang'a County Governor Mwangi wa Iria can now heave a temporaly sigh of relief after the High court saved him from being arrested and prosecuted.
The High Court in its ruling today Wednesday, has restrained the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission( EACC) from arresting and prosecuting Wa Iria until his petition is heard and determined.
Wa Iria is alleged of lying to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that he had never been convicted in a court of law, in a declaration form he submitted to IEBC on December 11, 2012 while seeking clearance to run for the governor post in the 2013 general election, The Nation reports.
Through his lawyer Ng'ang'a Mbugua the Governor argued that the said self-declaration form referred to conviction and serving a sentence of at least six months in prison, yet he had been handed a non-custodial sentence by a Makadara Magistrate Court and the case was still pending at the time he was filling the form.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko had approved the prosecution of the Murang'a Governor following a recommendation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
In a report on Capital FM, the Governor is accused of “deceiving and knowingly misleading the Commission contrary to Section 46(1) of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012; and giving false information in a declaration to the Commission contrary to Section 46 (1) (d) of the Leadership and Integrity Act No. 19 of 2012.
See also: Alfred Keter and Sonia Birdi To Face Corruption Charges
