Prosecution ‘tables’ theft charges against embattled FKF boss Nick Mwendwa
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has asked a Kiambu Court to allow him to prosecute embattled Federation Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa over the reported theft of Sh8.5million and conspiracy to defraud the football body Sh29.5million.
While presenting a raft of evidence in support of the fresh case filed against Mwendwa, the DPP through Kiambu County prosecutor Ms Everlyn Onunga, said he has enough evidence to support and prove the theft charges against the football boss.
In the first theft charge, Mwendwa is alleged to have stolen KSh2,500,000 on May 15 2021, being the property of FKF when he served as president of the federation.
The second charge states, on March 4, 2021, Mwendwa stole Sh5million, the property of FKF when he served as its president.
The third indictment is that of stealing Sh1million on May 6, 2021, while the last count is of conspiring to defraud FKF Sh29,502,709 jointly with others, not before the court.
Ms Onunga told Kiambu senior resident magistrate Wilson Rading that the decision to charge Mwendwa was ‘informed by the sufficiency of evidence or record and the public interest and not any other consideration’.
Ms Onunga appearing alongside Ms Terry Kehoro presented to the court and to Mwendwa lawyers Eric Mutua, Charles Njenga, and Victor Omwebu, 71 documents in support of the four charges.
The documentary evidence includes bank transactions from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), NCBA, NIC Bank including the approved budget for FKF for three years.
“FKF approved budgets for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020 was Sh797,259,232 Sh1,241,991,520 and Sh1,004,565,145 respectively,” the inspection report of the FKF committee appointed by outgoing Sports CS Amina Mohammed shows.
Ms Onunga urged Rading to dismiss in its entirety the application by Mwendwa seeking to block the DPP from prosecuting him saying it has not met the threshold.
“The stay orders sought by Mwendwa are not tenable as he has not met the threshold for such orders and the application is wrongly before the court,” says prosecutor Thelma Nanjaya in an affidavit in support of the DPP plea to dismiss the case by Mwendwa to prohibit his trial over the alleged theft.
Onunga told Rading that Anti-Corruption High Court Judge Esther Maina declined to restrain the Kiambu trial.
“The DPP prays this matter proceeds for plea taking before the trial court which is well equipped to deal with the quality and sufficiency of evidence gathered in support of the charges preferred against Mwendwa,” Onunga prayed.
The DPP has denied averments by Mwendwa that the decision to charge him amounts to using the criminal process to intimidate him stating the allegations are “unfounded and without any legal backing.”
The DPP asserts that his prosecutorial powers are hinged on the constitution and do not require consent or authority from any person or authority while authorizing the prosecution of anybody.
Further, the DPP told Rading, Mwendwa has wrongly placed the application seeking to prohibit his prosecution as the Anti-Corruption High Court had dismissed his plea to stop his trial and then required him to approach the High Court Kiambu to have his rights enforced.
Mwendwa claims the decision by the DPP to commence a fresh theft case is an affront to his constitutional rights since he had been discharged by the Anti-Corruption Court chief magistrate Eunice Nyuttu on July 6, 2022.
Onunga asked Rading to take judicial notice that Mwendwa has since been ordered to answer charges by another Kiambu magistrate Kibet Sambu.
Defence lawyers Mutua, Njenga and Omwebu opposed the DPP’s application to be allowed to prosecute Mwendwa saying his constitutional rights will be compromised since he had been discharged for failure by the DPP to produce evidence before the anti-graft court.
The defence lawyers have also filed another case before the high court Kiambu seeking orders to quash the DPPs decision to charge him at the Kiambu law courts claiming “that amounts to forum shopping since he had been discharged by the anti-corruption court.”
Rading will decide whether Mwendwa will be charged or not on November 2, 2022.
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