An anti-corruption court will this morning issue directions in a case in which Former Lands Minister Amos Kimunya is to defend himself in the revived Sh60 million graft case.
The case involved accusations of irregularly transferring 25 acres of land worth Sh60 million in Nyandarua to a private company when he was a minister in 2005.
Kimunya, Lilian Wangiri Njenga and Junghae Wainaina, an official of Midlands Limited were acquitted by Anti-corruption Magistrate Felix Kombo in May 2020 on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Aggrieved with the decision, the state appealed.
High Court Judge Esther Maina later allowed the appeal by the state saying she was satisfied the prosecution had established a valid case against the trio.
Maina's decision meant that the case had been restored with the three being required to defend themselves on five counts of corruption-related charges after quashing one of the charges on grounds that it is defective.
The case revolves around a Sh60 million land in Nyandarua County.
Kimunya is said to have effected the transfer of the land to a private company Limited on June 30, 2005, when he served as a Land Minister.
He was charged alongside Lilian Wangiri and Junghae Wainania an official of Midlands Limited.
The charges alleged that Kimunya and Njenga allegedly used their offices to allocate to Midlands 25 acres of public land in Nyandarua valued at Sh60 million.
Other charges are abuse of office, failing to disclose a private interest and fraudulent disposal of public property.
Separately, the Court of Appeal is expected to hear an appeal lodged by the Supreme Court in a case involving a ban they imposed against Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi.
The high court this year dismissed the Supreme Court judges' bid to stop the hearing of the case.
High Court judge Chacha Mwita said the High Court has the power to hear the matter saying the issues raised at under their jurisdiction.
"The court had a duty to determine whether deer rights and fundamental freedoms in the bill of rights have been violated or denied through the challenged action," said Mwita.
The supreme court judges had asked the High Court not to entertain the case filed by the senior advocate saying it would be a breach of the court hierarchy to entertain the matter.
Senior counsel Ochieng Oduol who represents the Supreme Judges had filed an objection to the case saying that once the Apex court has decided on a particular issue and an order issued, the same cannot be the subject matter of supervision by the high court.
Supreme court judges banned Ahmednasir from appearing before it on January 18, 2024. What followed was the lawsuits currently being litigated in court.
