The Office of Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) led by Noordin Haji has registered cases worth Sh224 billion involving top government officials in the last three years.
The 53 cases on corruption allegations involve seven Cabinet Secretaries and Permanent Secretaries, 11 governors and senior county officials, 22 directors and chief executive 0fficers and seven MPs.
In its report based on three consolidated financial years handed to President Uhuru Kenyatta, DPP Noordin Haji said they have filed the cases, despite various challenges that require high level of expertise to prosecute.
It is the taxpayers’ money held in litigation that the prosecution office is legally battling to recover using a new strategy as it faces it off in court with a battery of lawyers hired by the prominent personalities.
The cases include former Treasury CS Henry Rotich’s Sh63 billion charges regarding the Kimwarer and Aror dams’ scandal, while his former Sports counterpart Hassan Wario is in court over the Sh55 million Rio Olympic scandal.
Governors whose cases are still pending in court include Mike Sonko (Nairobi), Moses Lenolkulal (Samburu), Muthomi Njuki (Tharaka Nithi), Ali Korane (Garissa), Okoth Obado (Migori) and former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.
Through plea bargaining, the DPP’s office recovered during the period grabbed land worth Sh2.7 billion. The land belongs to the University of Nairobi and Racecourse Primary School.
In adoption of a holistic approach in the fight against corruption, Haji who was appointed into office in March 2018, said he opted to use a three-pronged strategy to deal with cases.
“In this regard, and in our overall quest to enhance service delivery to Kenyans, the ODPP continues to be guided by a three-pronged strategic approach of Re-Casting, Re-Tooling, and Re-Learning,” he said.
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The DPP said in his scorecard that his office has been working closely with internal and external stakeholders in the criminal justice sector in a bid to create synergies that have led to efficiency, effectiveness and accountability.
In the ODPP’s bid to handle complex crimes, the report lists adoption of digital disclosure of evidence in prosecution to ensure accused persons are served with documents in a timely and cost-effective manner.
The prosecution has also established a case management system that is envisaged to link the criminal justice chain anchors, reduce cases of lost files and standardise management of records.
The DPP said there is a need for prosecutors to be trained on new and emerging areas of crime as well as new methods employed by criminals.
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