- Lenolkulal and 10 others were on Thursday found guilty of various counts including abuse of office, conflict of interest and unlawful acquisition of public property.
- The former county boss was ordered to pay Sh85 million in fines or serve eight-year jail term in default.
Image: FILE
Former Samburu governor Moses Lenolkulal has been released on bail pending the determination of his appeal.
The Anti-Corruption Court sitting in Milimani on Thursday found the former county boss and 10 others guilty of various counts, including abuse of office, conflict of interest, and unlawful acquisition of public property, and fined him Sh85 million, failing which he would serve eight years in jail.
The others found guilty included his former proxy, Hesbon Ndathi, whose fine was fixed at Sh83 million or 8-year jail term in default.
The other convicts, who were officials at the county, received lighter penalties, with each ordered to pay Sh700,000 in fines or serve 4-year jail terms in default.
They included the former county secretary, six chief officers of Finance, Environment, Agriculture, Transport, Land, and Gender, a deputy director of Education, and the Head of Supply Chain Management.
The sentences were delivered by Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzioki of the Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani Thursday evening.
Lenolkulal and Ndathi appealed their sentences via an application supported by an affidavit sworn by their counsel, Isaac Rene.
High Court Judge Diana Kavedza certified the application as urgent in her ruling delivered virtually and qualified the application for bail as reasonable, saying “The applicants do not pose any risk to society or themselves since the offences in question did not involve personal violence.”
“In exercising my discretion… the 1st and 2nd applicants are each admitted to a bond of Sh10,000,000 with one surety of a similar amount,” she said.
“I do not wish to comment on the legality of the sentence at this stage as it will prejudice the outcome of the main appeal. I leave the arguments of that ground for the main appeal,” the judge said.
She, however, directed that Lenolkulal and Ndathi deposit in court their passports and or all travelling documents before being released.
The judge further directed that the application and petition of appeal be served upon the respondent (the State) within seven days and the respondent to file responses within 14 days.
“This matter is fixed for mention on October 31, 2024, before the Presiding Judge, Milimani Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, and for further directions,” Justice Kavedza directed.