Court Declines To Expunge Evidence Of Slain NLC Staffer In GAA Fraud Case

NAIROBI,Kenya, Nov, 17 – Milimani Chief Magistrate Wendy Micheni Tuesday refused to expunge evidence of slain National Lands Commission (NLC) staffer Jennifer Wambua in a fraud case where Sh122 million is said to have been stolen from the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).

The ruling came as major blow to Former Broadcasting and Telecommunication Principal Secretary Sammy Itemere, Lugari MP Ayub Savula and 29 others accused of conspiring to steal the funds.

Wambua, who served as a director of Communications at the Lands Commission was killed this year in March and her body found dumped in Ngong,Kajiado county.

The accused had filed an application seeking to ave the evidence discard arguing that she deceased had not been cross-examined in the high profile case.

The argued that if she was not cross-examined then her evidence would prove to be prejudice, as it had not been subjected to credibility and veracity tests…. as such infringe on their rights to a fair trial.

“Under the circumstances the court finds the evidence adduced by the witness before the court shall remain on record and shall not be expunged, however the weight to rely on the said evidence will be less compared to when it would have been tested through cross examination,” ruled Micheni.

Wambua was set to be cross examined at leat three times. The first time, the prosecution informed the court that she was unwell, the second time she is said to have been involved in a car accident while the third time she was announced to have died.

The GAA was created in 2015 to handle all government advertisements in electronic and print media despite protests by the Media Owners Association.The agency publishes My Gov, a weekly insert distributed in the dailies.