Wakhungu accuses EACC of bribing witness in fraud case

 

Corruption convict Grace Wakhungu now claims  the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission paid a witness in the Sh297 million maize scandal to secure her conviction. 

Wakhungu and Sirisia MP John Waluke are in prison after they were convicted of fraud.  Wakhungu was sentenced to 69 years with an option of Sh1 billion fine while Waluke was handed a 67 years or a similar fine. 

The two have since appealed their convictions.

Wakhungu says one of the prosecution witnesses from Chelsea Freight company was paid by EACC to testify against them.

The witness says in court papers that “EACC asked me to testify and I asked them to cater for my ticket and accommodation.I was offered some security. I was offered some amount of stipend.”

Wakhungu through lawyers Paul Muite and Duncan O’kubasu indicates that the witness admitted to have been paid a stipend whose amount is unknown. This, they say, was enough motive to fix them, contrary to the findings of trial court that “Prosecution Witness 22 would have had no reason to frame them.”

During trial, the convicts' firm Erad claimed it stored the maize in a warehouse owned by Chelsea for 123 days. But Chelsea denied this.

Wakhungu says she will demonstrate that fact at the time of arguing the appeal. She believes her appeal has an overwhelming chance of success as the prosecution failed to prove its case against them beyond a reasonable doubt.

The two directors of Erad Supplies were charged on August 2, 2018 with uttering a false document to an arbitrator. Wakhungu was also charged with perjury for giving false evidence for claims for costs of storage of 40,000 metric tonnes of white maize.

 Erad was awarded Sh211,719,200 for loss of profit and another Sh123,790,000 for storage charges. The total award was Sh335,510,120 and interest at 12 per cent per annum from October 2004.

But the DPP and EACC claimed that the invoice which Erad sought and obtained in support of a claim for cost of storage of the 40,000 metric tonnes of maize was forged, hence the offence of uttering a false document and perjury.

But in her court documents, Wakhungu claims that no forensic evidence of a document examiner was produced by the prosecution to establish that the invoice in question was indeed falsified.

“There was no basis at all to arrive at that conclusion that there was 'no doubt whatsoever’ that the accused persons committed the offences,” she says.

She says it's not disputed that the amount of Sh313,364,671 was received pursuant to an order of the court.

Its Wakhungu’s argument is that there can be no case of fraudulent acquisition arising from an order or decree of the court, which has not been overturned.

She will also be demonstrating how hurried the court was in imposing the sentences as it failed to state whether the sentences were to run concurrently or consecutively.

Wakhungu who has been behind bars since June has sought to be released on bail pending hearing of the appeal. In an affidavit, Duncan O’kubasu  says Wakhungu called him early July and informed him that she had developed athlete's foot disease while in custody.

O’kubasu says Wakhungu has become less stable because of the general poor aeration of the cells.

 “For the two occasions I spoke to her, she sounded weak, disturbed, anxious and in need of intense medical care and attention,”

But in a letter dated July24 , the Commissioner General of Prisons explained that Wakhungu's condition was stable and could be managed in the prisons medical facility.

The bail application will be heard on Wednesday.