The hearing of a case in which Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi is charged with forging academic certificates was yesterday adjourned to April 19.
The MP faces charges of forging his academic certificates and providing false information to an IEBC officer. The prosecution said Sudi’s Diploma in Business Management allegedly issued by the Kenya Institute of Management and a KCSE certificate from Highway High School were forged.
The magistrate put off the case to enable the prosecution to supply defence lawyers with copies of the witness statements.
The first prosecution witness, Marine Mutahi, an officer from the IEBC, is expected to complete his testimony in the case. Mutahi had earlier told the court he cleared Sudi to run for the seat in 2013, without knowing the documents that were presented to him were forged.
He said on January 30, 2013, the MP and his assistant presented the documents to be cleared for nominations. “I went through them and cleared him because he merited, according to all the documents he presented to me,” Mutahi said.
He told the court that among the documents he received was a banker’s cheque of Sh20,000 the MP had paid as nomination fee.
Mutahi said he also received Sudi’s national ID, aspirant self-declaration form, certificate of good conduct, a campaign programme schedule on how he would carry out his campaign and a certificate of membership from his political party.
Sudi has denied the charges.
The MP is out on Sh600,000 bond or Sh300,000 bail. The prosecution has lined up 14 witnesses to testify in the case.