Waiguru fails to testify in Sh791 million NYS theft case

Kirinyanga Governor Anne Waiguru boycotted a court session where she was expected to testify against former PS Peter Mangiti and 23 other accomplices in the Sh791 million NYS theft.

Waiguru was set to testify Thursday and Friday but the court was informed that she was unable to appear in court because she was attending to official engagements. The prosecution asked the court for an adjournment until September when the controversial governor will be available to testify.

The defense team expressed opposition to the adjournment arguing that Waiguru was in court in May this year and she was well aware that her testimony was today but she deliberately skipped and informed the prosecution quite late so that they could not secure new witnesses.

The court had dismissed Waiguru’s application to bar the media from covering her testimony in May when she claimed that she was apprehensive that some of her statements may be taken out of context and be misreported by the media.

Though prosecution had 10 other witnesses that they could call, they chose to wait until September 1 after Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi allowed the adjournment. Andayi is scheduled for a transfer to Nyeri but said he will try to conclude the case.

“In that regard, I can’t say I want to conclude this case before I move to Nyeri, otherwise I will have to leave the case at the point I have reached and proceed for transfer,” Andayi said.

The Magistrate also noted that they have proceeded at a good pace despite the complexity of the case which has 26 accused persons and 16 lawyers as both the prosecution and the defense expressed their desire to have him to hear and conclude the matter before he proceeds on transfer.

Governor Waiguru turned from a key suspect to a key witness in the Sh791 million National Youth Service (NYS) theft yet she was the Devolution Secretary when the millions were siphoned from the State agency.

The scandal which forced her to resign in 2015 also implicated former senior government officials who are still facing charges including the former Devolution Permanent Secretary Dr Peter Mangiti, former NYS Director-General Nelson Githinji, ex-NYS finance director Samuel Wachenje and business people like Josephine Kabura and Ben Gethi.