A Nairobi Milimani court issued a warrant of arrest against a senior security manager at East African Development Bank of Kenya (EADB).
The warrant is to run for 24 hours pending service of a High Court order stopping the proceedings at the Magistrate’s Court.
Senior principal magistrate Dolphina Alego issued the warrant after Isaac Nyongesa Okwara failed to appear in court for plea taking on Tuesday February 11.
Chief Magistrate Susan Shitumbi had issued summons on January 28, against Nyongesa who is accused of providing false information to the police regarding former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju and ordered him to appear before magistrate Alego for plea taking.
“It is imperative and invariably that court orders are to be followed and complied with conclusively. Application by senior counsel Fred Ojiambo has been noted and we await the published order from justice Chacha Mwita for record purposes and stay order as expressed by senior counsel,” ruled the court.
“The warrant of arrest is here by issued in abeyance for 24hrs against the accused person as we await for stay orders from the higher court.”
Okwara through his lawyer senior Counsel Fred Ojiambo had asked the court to defer the plea pending service of the High Court orders stopping the proceedings.
Ojiambo argued that the accused who is currently in Kampala, Uganda was only served the summons the previous week.
“The accused is an officer based and serving in Uganda only got summons in the previous week. We were praying to have more time to travel. We have an exit stamp showing he is currently in Uganda.”
The prosecution however asked the court for an arrest warrant against Nyongesa.
They argued that the accused had deliberately failed to appear in court despite receiving proper summons.
The prosecution counsel told the court that no official documents had been served to the state including any High Court orders stopping the proceedings.
“They are speculating that they will get orders,” the prosecution argued, accusing the defense of holding the court in contempt.
Tuju through his lawyer Duncan Okatch, on his part argued that there were no valid court order preventing the case from moving forward.
He dismissed claims that Justice Chacha Mwita had issued a stay order, saying that if such an order existed, it would have been formally presented.
“What my colleague is holding are merely directions, not orders stopping this court from proceeding with business today,” said Okatch
The court also heard that the accused, had left the country for Kampala on January 23, despite having received summons at least 10 days in advance.
Okatch argued that no explanation had been provided for his travel.
With no valid orders barring the proceedings and the accused failing to appear, the prosecution maintained that a warrant of arrest was necessary.
“I have never seen a case more deserving of a warrant than this one,” said the prosecution counsel
Okwara is accused of misleading authorities on January 8, 2023, at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
The prosecution claims that he knowingly provided false information regarding Tuju
The charge sheet states that Okwara’s statements led to an official investigation based on misleading details.
Key witnesses named in the case include CS Raphael Tuju, Washington Barnabas, and Iimspector Duncan Maina.
“Okwara is accused that on August 8, 2023 at DCI Headquarters, Nairobi within Nairobi City County, he gave information to Inspector Duncan Maina, a person employed in the public service, serving as a Police Officer and stationed at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations that one Raphael Tuju has committed criminal offences, to with, making false statement by director of a company, illegal transfer of a mortgaged property and making unlawful receipts, which Information he knew or believed to be false, intending thereby to cause the said IP Duncan to commence criminal investigations against the named Raphael Tuju, which he ought not to have done if the true state of facts in respect to such information had been known to him”.
The matter will be mentioned on February 12, for further directions.
By Harrison Wanzala
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