- According to the complainant, if the application is not allowed, he stands to suffer irreparable loss should a decision be made adverse to their rights under Kenyan Law.
Image: FILE
A Nairobi court has been requested to allow the director of a flower firm and the complainant to have their lawyer cross-examine witnesses in a case where five people a charged with conspiracy to defraud.
This is after the complainant said he was the main reason the proceedings were commenced.
The accused Shailesh Rai, his wife Ranjeeta Rai and three others are charged with Conspiracy to Defraud contrary to Section 317 of the Penal Code.
They face other charges of alleged stealing contrary to Section 282 of the Penal Code, Money Laundering contrary to Section 3 (b) (i) as read with Section 16 of the POCAMLA and Forgery Contrary to Section 345 as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code.
The court was told that Heritage Flowers Limited purchased land in Rimuruti to grow flowers for export using a facility from the Bank of India.
The complainant alleges that the accused persons have continued to use the funds from the investment and this will affect the possibility of recovery of any proceeds of crime as the accused persons are reportedly actively laundering the same.
In an application filed by lawyer Henry Kinyanjui, he argues that one would expect that there is a common appreciation of the architecture of the legal system including the Victim Protection Act.
According to the complainant, the accused persons appear to have allegedly operated either in the ancient days before the transformative constitution or were completely ignorant of the law regarding the participation of the Victims in criminal trials.
Kinyanjui alleges that the accused persons have marshalled mainly three arguments.
First, there was no company resolution permitting the commencement of the case. Secondly, the complainant should be Heritage Flowers Limited and the Applicant is not a victim.
Three, they suggest that the applicant doesn’t need an advocate as there is a prosecutor to ventilate their arguments.
"The provisions of Section 13 of the Victims Protection Act as the Complainant and Victim in this matter I am entitled to participate in the proceedings emanating from the Complaint he made with the Investigating Officers at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations," submitted the complainant through Advocate Kinyanjui.
According to the complainant, if the application is not allowed, he stands to suffer irreparable loss should a decision be made adverse to their rights under Kenyan Law.
"It is in the interest of all the parties to the proceedings herein that the court allows the application herein, as it will enable the court to make a just determination on all matters presented before it," submitted advocate Kinyanjui.
The accused persons' lawyer, however, told the court that having read the submissions of the application, they require time to prepare and make submissions and highlight.
Both parties were not ready to proceed with the hearing. The case will proceed on Tuesday.