Court declines DPP's request to dismiss Ksh.31M graft case against former Kenya Pipeline MD Tanui

The Milimani High Court has declined an application to withdraw a Ksh.30 million corruption case against former Kenya Pipeline Managing Director (MD) Charles Kiprotich Tanui and his co-accused.

The move comes as a blow to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) which had presented 25 witnesses to testify in the case before changing tune and declining to lead the last witness, an EACC Investigating Officer, to the stand.

The ODPP subsequently applied to have the case dropped but the court turned it down, ordering that the matter proceed to its conclusion.

This was the second time that the ODPP filed an application to have the case dismissed, with the trial court likewise throwing out the request.

The DPP has in the past been accused of calling witnesses and not leading them forcing the court to acquit accused persons over lack of evidence.

Tanui alongside Elias MainaKarumi (Former Chief Manager-Technical) and Josphat Kipkoech Sirma (Former Chief Electrical Engineer) were in 2020 charged with failing to comply with the law relating to procurement by authorizing payment of Euros 261,070 (Ksh.31,987,584) to Redline Limited for three autotransformers on February 18, 2014.

The court heard that Karumi used his office to improperly confer a benefit to Redline Limited by authorising payment of Euros 8,695 (Ksh.1,065,354) on the same date.

Sirma was accused of signing a Material Arrival Advice Note/Inspection Report without lawful authority purporting it to be genuine certifying that works in respect of the tender issued to Redline Limited had been completed successfully.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) previously said these payments to Redline Limited were made using false documents and that the autotransformers were never installed, tested or commissioned as per the contract agreement.