The anti-corruption court has allowed former Principal Secretary Lilian Omollo to travel to Canada in June for graduation.
Omollo is facing allegations of the theft of Ksh468 million at the National Youth Service (NYS).
While allowing Omollo’s application, Magistrate Peter Ooko directed Omollo to ensure her passport which is held by the court since her arraignment in court in 2018 is returned to court on June 20 upon getting back to the country
Omollo through her lawyer Justus Omollo told the court that she needs to travel to Canada from June 1 to June 15 for a graduation ceremony to be held on June 8.
The former PS however did not disclose to the court whose graduation ceremony she is attending in the foreign land.
Omollo sought to have the passport deposited with the court as one of her bail conditions released earlier so as to enable the renewal of the travel documents before the scheduled travel dates.
The prosecution, however, did oppose the plea for the release of Omollo’s passport for renewal and travel abroad.
Omollo’s plea
The former PS is currently facing three separate trials involving the loss of Ksh226.9 million, Ksh167 million and Ksh60 million at NYS.
In the trials, she is facing charges of authorising payment of the monies for goods not supplied.
She is also facing charges related to offences of conspiracy to commit an offence of economic crime, fraud, abuse of office and willful failure to comply with applicable procedures and guidelines relating to the management of public funds.
Other charges include neglect of official duties, fraudulently making payments, breach of trust, making documents without authority, uttering false documents, false accounting, fraudulent acquisition of public property, dealing with suspect property and money laundering.
In the case before Magistrate Ooko, Omollo and her 32 co-accused persons are accused of conspiring to commit an economic crime by allowing the payment of Ksh60,598,800 to three companies including Arkroad holding limited, Ersatz Enterprises and Kalabash Road supplies.
They are alleged to have committed the offences on diverse dates between April 6, 2016, and May 13, 2017, within the Republic of Kenya.
The prosecution of former PS is currently proceeding before three separate courts after she lost a bid to have the three graft cases terminated in October 2022.
In a judgement delivered by High Court Judge Esther Maina, the court declined her attempt to terminate three corruption cases against her over the loss of millions at NYS for dragging in court over two years without being concluded.
Justice Maina also rejected Omollo’s arguments that she ought not to have been arraigned in court over the Ksh468 million graft scandal because the alleged offences occurred during the execution of her official duties as PS.
Omollo in her court papers had claimed that she had immunity over civil and criminal proceedings and ought not to have been charged while being the PS in the Ministry of Youth and Gender.
But Justice Maina said that the issue of whether Omollo acted in good faith or not should be determined by the trial court.
In regard to her argument that her trial should be terminated because two years had passed since it started, Justice Maina said the legal timeline applies to suspended officials only.
The judge declined Omollo’s argument that the trial court has no powers to hear the criminal case levelled against her based on a provision in Section 62(1) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) on “suspension (of a public officer) if charged with corruption or economic crime”.
The said law provides that “a public officer or state officer who is charged with corruption or economic crime shall be suspended, at half pay, with effect from the date of the charge until the conclusion of the case provided that the case shall be determined within twenty-four months”
Omollo was suspended from office on June 19, 2018, after she was arraigned in court over corruption-rated offences.
She was eventually sacked in May 2020 and another person was appointed to the office.
