Former Treasury PS Kamau Thugge is set to be a key witness against his former boss, former Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich in the Ksh21 billion Arror and Kimwarer dam scandal.
This comes after the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (ODPP) withdrew the charges against Thugge and former Wildlife Principal Secretary Susan Koech in a deal that will see them become prosecution witnesses in the scandal.
Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Alexander Muteti had filed an application asking the court to discharge both Thugge and Koech.
Nairobi Magistrate Douglas Ogoti granted the application and ordered cash bail to be returned to the suspects.
The judge also granted Muteti's request to be given one month to produce the 18 Italians who had been charged alongside Rotich.
He added that they had been in contact with the Italian government over the matter.
"Italy was the most hit by Covid-19 so we were not able to process the matter for the appearance of number 8 to number 26 suspects.
"We have asked for legal assistance with the Italian government to help extradite the suspects," Muteti stated.
A source at the DPP's office told Kenyans.co.ke that the move was part of a fool-proof strategy that will see the main culprits brought to book.
The Arror and Kimwarer scandal has been one of the biggest scandals that has rocked Kenya.
An Italian firm CMC di Ravenna had won a contract to build the dams in 2015. However, the ground is yet to be broken on either project despite over Ksh18 billion being paid out, according to the state prosecutors.
The DPP initially stated that there was no evidence that the land where the project was to take place had been acquired by the government.
He cited that the scheme was well orchestrated by top officials in collusion with private institutions.
