Former Machakos County chief of staff Mwengi Mutuse addresses the press outside Machakos Law Courts on Thursday.(Photo/Maugo Owiti/hivisasa.com)
Machakos Law Court has cleared Machakos Chief of Staff Mwengi Mutuse and 8 other county officers of procuremet corruption charges leveled against them.
Mutuse was charged alongside Former County secretary Francis Mwaka, interim head of procurement John Murichia, works Engineer Morris Aluanga and four other interim transitional officers on willful failure to comply with procurement procedures in awarding of a tender for renovation of the County Ministers offices before obtaining the requisite written approval from the tender committee to use of an alternative procurement method.
Other alternative counts leveled against the officers in 2013 include corrupt practice in procurement proceeding centrally to section 40(1) in procurement laws.
“That being an interim County secretary Francis Mwaka received Ksh 5,000 from Mr paul Muli ,a director of Stepal Builders and Contractors Ltd as an inducement to reward of tenders for renovation”
Further, the accused were linked to blatant abuse of the procedure related to procurement, “The accused persons jointly failed to comply with the law relating to procurement by awarding four tenders to Stepal builders Ltd that was invited to bid before approval to restrictive tendering was obtained from tender committee,” read part of the charges.
Before a senior resident magistrate Catherine Ocharo the court observed that the prosecution failed to demonstrate that the accused persons willfully failed to comply with procurement laws. The Court established that the process was clear and open that the tender committee used restricted tendering noting there was urgency.
Additionally, the court failed to substantiate allegations that the said officers received money inducements to award the tenders.
“The investigating officer appears to have acted on a pure suspicion based on Mpesa, bank statements to charge the accused persons by concluding that if monies exchanged hands , then it must be for award of tenders, suspicion cannot form basis of criminal charge,” read part of the ruling.
Principal Magistrate Catherine Ocharo set the accused free on basis lack of weight, and sufficient evidence from the persecution.
Welcoming the ruling, Mr Mutuse said he is pleased with the verdict saying the truth has been manifested.
“We are very happy that we have been vindicated, it was difficult fighting the case in court for three years, the truth has been separated from politics,” said Mutuse outside Mchakos Court yesterday.
He said that they will be writing to the employer to reinstate them after having stepping aside to pave investigations for three years down the line.