Magistrate declines to quit Sh1.1b Finland scholarship scandal case

From left: Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, Joshua Lelei and Meshack Rono at Nakuru Law Courts.[File, Standard]

A magistrate in Nakuru has refused to recuse himself from the Sh1.1 billion Finland scholarship case, insisting he was competent enough to handle the matter.

Nakuru Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege ruled that the recusal application made by the prosecution on the grounds of alleged bias and incompetence was unnecessary, and lacked sufficient grounds.

The case is against Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and two county officials Joshua Lelei and Meshack Rono.

Ndege noted that the application was not only opposed by the defense team but also by the victims who form part of over 200 witnesses lined up to testify in the case.

"There are no justified reasons for me to recuse myself from this case. The court has overseen legal proceedings of the case since the trial started," ruled Ndege.

The magistrate said the court had not been unfair to the prosecution, owing to the fact that it allocated them ample time to avail witnesses.

Further, Ndege said that though the court had pressured the prosecution to produce witnesses, it did so because the matter is of public interest.

"Over 200 witnesses have been listed and the court is bound to ensure the rights of victims, witnesses, and the three accused persons are protected," he ruled.

The magistrate confirmed that the court stamped its authority following concerns that witnesses lined up to testify were absconding court without valid reasons.

Prosecutor David Okach also accused the court of overstretching its jurisdiction when it ordered the arrest of Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii, his former deputy John Barorot, County Secretary Edwin Bett and former County Attorney Stephen Lel.

The four were lined up to testify on Monday but they did not appear. The court ordered their arrest.

Okach Wednesday said the court ought to have summoned the four witnesses, before issuing warrants of arrest, as prayed by Prosecutor Angeline Chinga on Monday.

"It is clear that bias has been manifested by the issuance of warrants to the prosecution witnesses before giving them a chance to explain their absence," said Okach.

He said the warrants caused a lot of anxiety, fear and intimidation and they felt the case would not get a fair trial before Ndege.

In response, lawyers Miller Bwire, Elijah Kibet, Stephen Kibungei and Fidel Limo, representing the accused opposed the application.

Bwire said the application was founded on the wrong fact. He said the court had to stamp its authority after noting that the four were supposed to testify on July 1.

"They were to appear on July 1, they did not and an apology was made. The court understood. They were to appear on July 22 but they did not and did a letter," said Bwire.

Mandago, Lelei and Rono face 10 counts of conspiracy to steal, stealing, abuse of office, and forgery, that led to misuse of the money deposited by parents in the Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Fund account.

The charge sheet indicates that the three conspired to steal the Sh1.1 billion from KCB Bank in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, on dates between March 1, 2021 and September 12, 2022.