A Nairobi anti-corruption court has allowed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to withdraw a Ksh73.5 million graft case against former Migori Governor Okoth Obado, bringing an end to a long-running corruption trial that also involved his children and several associates.
In its judgment issued on Friday, 15th May, Senior Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore found that the DPP did not abuse his discretion when arriving at the decision to settle the matter out of court.
The court directed the release of the passports of the accused individuals along with the refunding of cash bond money that had been paid during the proceedings.
This is following an earlier case involving allegations of corruption and embezzlement of government funds while Obado was the governor of Migori. The case was later withdrawn after he agreed to give up property worth approximately Ksh235 million in an out-of-court settlement with the government.
The court observed that the total worth of the property given up was more than thrice the amount under the criminal charges.
This agreement was made through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure where Obado and his cohorts were charged for misappropriation of public funds in Migori County. In the agreement, he gave up eight pieces of land and two Toyota Land Cruisers worth approximately Ksh235.6 million.
The ruling also pointed to earlier High Court asset recovery cases, which had already resulted in settlement agreements linked to the same matter, concluding that the objectives of prosecution had effectively been achieved through recovery.
The case had also exposed tensions between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, with the anti-graft agency previously arguing that civil asset recovery and criminal prosecution should be treated separately.
However, the court dismissed concerns that the settlement was unconstitutional or against public interest, noting that legally recognised plea agreements cannot be invalidated simply because they are unpopular.
“If an act is passed in compatibility with the Constitution and the laws thereunder, it cannot be deemed to have offended public interest,” the court ruled.
The matter had originally involved claims that more than Ksh1.9 billion was lost through fictitious procurement contracts involving Migori County officials and other individuals.