This archive report was first published on 25 June 2020.
On June 25, 2020, Nairobi Chief Magistrate Elizabeth Juma handed down a verdict in the high-profile fraud case involving Sirisia MP John Waluke and his co-accused Grace Wakhungu.
Waluke and Wakhungu were convicted of five counts of fraud and ordered to pay fines totaling over Sh720 million.
The fines include paying back double the amount lost at the National Cereals and Produce Board, as well as Sh26 million lost by a complainant.
Waluke risks losing his parliamentary seat if he fails to pay the fines, with the court ordering the Speaker of the National Assembly to declare the seat vacant if he defaults.
Magistrate Juma declined to accept an application for a pre-sentence report, citing that the practice applies to cases with sentences of three years or below.
Despite the seriousness of the offenses, the court took into account the accused's advanced age and first-offender status, but ultimately found that they had taken advantage of prevailing circumstances to swindle the organizations at a time when Kenyans were facing hunger.
