Former Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and 16 other individuals have been acquitted of corruption charges by a Malindi court.
The decision, delivered by Malindi Chief Magistrate James Mwaniki, follows a request from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) to discontinue the proceedings.
In a letter dated July 31, 2024, the ODPP sought the withdrawal of the case, citing incomplete investigations and the lack of full disclosure.
The ODPP argued that the timeline for finalizing the investigations was uncertain, making it impractical to proceed with the case at this time.
Chief Magistrate Mwaniki granted the ODPP’s application, allowing the case to be withdrawn and discharging the accused under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
He ordered that any cash bail deposited in court be returned to the depositors and that security documents be returned to the sureties, who are also relieved of their obligations.
In his ruling, Magistrate Mwaniki emphasized that the withdrawal of charges, as requested by the ODPP, should not be viewed as an abuse of court process.
However, he cautioned that if the ODPP were to pursue subsequent proceedings against the accused based on the same facts, it might be interpreted as an abuse of court process.
This ruling effectively clears the accused of the current corruption charges, although it leaves open the possibility of future legal actions depending on the outcome of ongoing investigations.
The suspects were facing ten counts of corruption and economic crimes, including procurement fraud and misappropriation of Ksh 8.5 billion of public funds during the construction of Kenya Utalii College in Kilifi.
According to the EACC, the Tourism Fund illegally paid Ksh 8.5 billion for the setting up of a satellite Utalii College in the coast region.
The Ksh 8.5 billion resulted from an increase in the cost of establishing the branch from Ksh 1.95 billion to Ksh 10.4 billion, EACC said.
According to the EACC, the construction of the college in Vipingo was approved for Ksh 1.948 billion in a cabinet memo signed by Balala on May 22, 2007, and his finance counterpart on August 20, 2007.
EACC’s probe revealed how some private consultants were contracted by the tourism fund to come up with architectural designs and drawings of the college and to supervise the main contractor.
The drawings and designs were approved for Sh8.6 billion.
The tender for the construction of the Kenya Utalii College’s coast branch, later renamed Ronald Ngala Utalii College, was awarded in May 2013 for Ksh 8.9 billion, compared to the approved cabinet amount of Ksh 1.948 billion.
