​Former Machakos chief of staff Mwengi Mutuse outside the Machakos law court on November 9   Photo/the-star.co.ke)

Do you have a lead on a newsworthy story? Share news tips with us here at Hivisasa!

A court in Machakos county has dismissed claims of corruption following the release of five county officials who linked to abuse of office. 

According to the Star, the court maintained that the five were freed after the prosecution side failed to prove the allegations leveled against them. 

The former county secretary Francis Mwaka, Machakos chief of staff Mwengi Mutuse and three others have been taken to court for allegedly flouting rules of procurement during the buying of 15 Subaru cars for senior county staff in 2013.

In his ruling, Machakos resident magistrate Abdulqadir Lorot said that there was no loss of public funds following the purchase of the automobiles. The court also argued that the said vehicles are in a good condition, adding that they are being used.

The magistrate also ruled that there is no evidence that some of the officials were bribed during the tendering process. The magistrate also agreed with the defense team that the county government opted to outsource the tender because of the urgency of the matter in question.

In a sworn affidavit, Mutuse told the court that the government urgently needed to purchase vehicles for delivering services to the residents.

Through lawyer Bernard Mung'ata, the five argued that the withdrawal of the case is likely to leave room for the Director of Public Prosecutions to file a fresh suit against them in relation to abuse of public office. 

He also said that the case filed against them did not sail through because the prosecution side lacked evidence.