Diplomat seeks review of Sh48.9m Kasarani CDF case

A diplomat who is charged alongside former Kasarani Member of Parliament Elizabeth Ongoro with embezzlement of Sh48.9million from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) has urged the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review his decision to file the corruption case against her.

Ruth Kanini Kitonyi, a Kenyan diplomat based in Malaysia and who is a former District Development Officer employed by the CDF board, has written to the DPP urging him to “ review the decision to charge me.”

A prosecutor urged anti-corruption chief magistrate Lawrence Mugambi to give the DPP seven days to communicate his decision in response to the plea by the diplomat.

But the request elicited protests from the rest of the accused persons numbering over 20 claiming “they were discriminated against.”

Defence team led by lawyers Dunstan Omari and George Wajackoya questioned the DPP’s exercise of powers in deciding to prosecute the 22 accused persons in the Kasarani CDF school scam which rocked the construction of Kasarani Girls High School between May, 2008 and December 10, 2012.

“The DPP is applying double standards in arresting some of the accused persons and arraigning them the next day in court without giving them an opportunity to write to him to review their cases,” Mr Omari said.