Failure by court clerks to type proceedings in a case where several people, including a former magistrate, have been charged with defrauding Miwani Sugar Company millions of shillings forced a magistrate to push the ruling to March 29.
Kisumu Senior Resident Magistrate Beryl Omollo set the date after both parties were informed that the ruling had not been typed.
This was the second time the ruling has been deferred. Last month, Principal Magistrate Julius Ng’arng’ar adjourned the case for similar reasons and informed the parties that the proceedings were not ready since his secretary had been unwell, nursing a spinal problem.
“The proceedings are not ready, they are halfway. We have not been able to finish because the secretary has been having a spinal problem,” said Ng’arng’ar.
The matter in which former magistrate Abdulkadir Elkindy is among the eight accused failed to proceed in January after it emerged that typed copies of the case proceedings were not ready.
Other accused are Kibos Sugar and Allied Companies chairman Sukwinder Sigh Chatte, Ian Gakoi Mawa, Odongo Philips Katiba, Moses Nyaburo Osewe, Kefa Lumumba Atunga, Epainto Apono Okoyo and Crossley Holdings Ltd.
On Friday, lead defence counsel Richard Onsongo and State prosecutor Mokaya Nyakundi, who sat in for Fred Ashimosi, told the court that they had been informed that the typed copies are ready and that they should pick them in the afternoon.
“I have been informed that the typed copies will be ready by 1pm today (Friday), we will pick them from the secretary’s office,” said Onsongo, with Nyakundi’s confirmation.
The state will rely on the documents to convince the court that the accused have a case to answer while the defence will use them to fight for the freedom of their clients.
After both parties have received the case’s proceedings, they will go through them and do written submissions to the court. On March 29 each party will argue before the court (finals submissions) why the case should go their way after which a judgment date will be set.
In the case, Elkindly is also facing another charge of abuse of office, where he allegedly used his position then as deputy registrar to issue a notification that an order had been issued by the High Court for the sale of the property in question.
Stanley Miriti, an officer who investigated the alleged fraud and was the last witness in the case, told the court in November, last year, that the certificate of consent from the Land Control Board in Nyando was issued to two entities. The accused allegedly committed the crime between 2007 and 2008.