This archive report was first published on 17 July 2020.
On July 17, 2020, the High Court in Machakos made a significant ruling in favor of Eng. Geoffrey Sang, the acting CEO of the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority.
Justice George Odunga declared that the intended prosecution of Eng. Sang, as recommended by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), was in excess of their powers and therefore unconstitutional.
The court further prohibited the DCI from instituting criminal proceedings against Sang unless the same is instituted through the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
According to Judge Odunga, the DCI has no powers or authority to institute criminal proceedings before a court of law without prior consent from the DPP, and any proceedings so commenced are unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, null, and void.
Eng. Sang was appointed as the acting CEO of the authority after a resolution of the board made during the 6th special full board meeting held on November 18, 2019, for a period of six months until a substantive chief executive officer was appointed.
He argued that officers from the DCI visited his office on April 24 and informed him that they were conducting investigations touching on his conduct at the agency and required him to accompany them to DCI's headquarters for interrogation.
He claimed he was arrested alongside acting procurement manager Lydia Korir and chief human resources officer Joseph Odhiambo, but was never presented with any summons from the DCI or documents detailing the nature of the investigation or allegations levelled against him.
He termed the allegations against him as malicious and motivated by sheer witch-hunt, which is evinced by the fact that one of the strangers alleged to have been hired by him, Noah Too, is a deceased having been passed on May 5, 2015, and payroll presented to detectives indicated alleged strangers are not in the Authority payroll.
He also said at no time during interrogation was he questioned regarding any money lost in a dam project and specifically the Naku'etum peace dam in Turkana, and publication indicating he was questioned over the same were erroneous, malicious, and spitefully to portray him as a corrupt individual.
However, the DPP submitted that Eng. Sang has not provided sufficient evidence that the DCI exceeded their jurisdiction or breached the principles of natural justice when they summoned him to record a statement.
The DPP added that it was in the public interest that all complaints made to the police should be investigated, and in this case, a complaint was made to the police, and police carried out their constitutional and statutory functions in investigating the alleged incident.
He further submitted that the petitioner did not demonstrate that the investigation done by the police and any criminal proceedings which may be preferred against him have been done in excess or without the jurisdiction by the DPP.
