The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga has been allowed to withdraw the sensational Ksh7.6 billion graft case facing oil controversial tycoon Yagnesh Devani.
According to Magistrate Harrison Barasa the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) cannot be compelled to proceed with the case after key witnesses show unwillingness to testify.
One witness in the case – former Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi – recently expressed his unwillingness to testify in the case, despite being a crucial piece of the puzzle, according to the courts.
Earlier in October, Ingonga had made an oral application to terminate the case through Senior Prosecution Counsel Elphas Ombati. However, the magistrate directed an affidavit to be filed on the matter, which he observed was of great public interest.
The affidavit was filed, but this did not deter the DPP, who came up with several reasons why he wanted to withdraw from the case.
The DPP cited the death of some witnesses and Murungi’s withdrawal from the case as some of the reasons why he did not want to testify. Further, he claimed the main complainant – the Emirates Petroleum boss – could not be traced. It has since emerged that he may have relocated to Singapore.
Despite ultimately allowing Ingonga to withdraw from the case, Harrison Barasa, a Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court magistrate, has left a window open for Yagnesh Devani to be prosecuted in the future if more evidence against him presents itself.
“At this juncture, it would be preposterous for this court to proceed. We will be forcing the agencies to proceed with a case even when they have made it clear that upon evaluation they don’t have sufficient evidence to sustain it,” Barasa said.
Yagnesh Devani controversy: Devani faces a myriad of accusations, including 11 counts of fraud including conspiracy to defraud, obtaining by false pretenses and fraudulent disposition of mortgaged goods.
One of the more sensational charges against him stemmed from a Ksh7.6 billion jet fuel scandal in 2008 which threatened to derail Kenya’s oil industry.
In August 2024, the runaway tycoon was in custody for 13 days before he was released on a KSh 5 million cash bail. He has been on the run for more than a decade.
Upon his release, Devani was ordered to surrender his passport as the magistrate warned him against interfering with key witnesses.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE