Okemo and Gichuru protest over case delay

Nambale MP Chris Okemo and former KPLC boss Samuel Gichuru have accused the State of delaying the proceedings of a case in which they are challenging the jurisdiction of a court in the Island of Jersey.

According to their lawyer Fred Ngatia, the State law office has taken over two months to respond to an application they made in the High Court seeking to be spared money laundering charges in Jersey on grounds that the offence was not a crime in Kenya when it was allegedly committed.

“The State has not replied to our application neither have they given us the list of authorities that give them the mandate to proceed with extradition process against Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru,” the lawyer said.

Replying affidavit

But State counsel Patrick Kiage said they were not delaying the proceedings, adding that it is the issue of commissioning several documents that has not made it possible to reply to the application.

He promised to serve the two with a replying affidavit by close of business on Monday, but had not done so by evening.

Mr Okemo and Mr Gichuru argued that prior to the enactment of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2009, it was not an offence in Kenya, hence the charges do not satisfy the dual criminality principle.

They also want a declaration that no fair trial can take place within the peculiar court systems operated by the Island of Jersey, and that the issue can only be decided in the constitutional petition in the High Court and not any other court.

They wanted the Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions barred from filing extradition proceedings in the lower court.