Former Cabinet Minister Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power managing director Samuel Gichuru now face extradition to Island of Jersey after the latest Supreme Court decision.
The two suffered a major blow after the Supreme Court on Friday set aside Court of Appeal’s decision outlawing their extradition.
They are wanted by the Island of Jersey to face charges related to corruption and money laundering.
On Friday, Justice Jackton Ojwang suspended Appeals Court decision pending the hearing and determination of an appeal filed at the Supreme Court by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In his appeal, the DPP argued that the ruling by the Appellate Court was wrong and an affront to the administration of justice. The Supreme Court has certified the case as urgent.
“The applicant was dissatisfied with the decision and has directed that an appeal be filed,” senior assistant DPP, Victor Mule said in affidavit.
In April 2011, arrest warrants were issued against Okemo, a former Finance minister and Gichuru. Last year, Jersey and Kenya struck an agreement with Jersey for the return of over Sh380 million assets allegedly stashed abroad by the duo.
The High Court had in 2015 given a green light for extradition of Okemo and Gichuru following a decision by a magistrate’s court in 2013 that approved their handover to the Jersey authorities.
However, a three judge bench consisting of Appeal Court’s Justices Erastus Githinji, Hanna Okwengu and Jamila Mohammed set aside the magistrate court’s ruling, noting that extradition is not part of Kenya’s criminal justice system.
The fresh twist in the duo’s case comes a week after Kenya signed a tripartite Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK) with Switzerland, UK and Jersey.
Greed never ends well. It…
Greed never ends well. It may take a while but the wheels of justice – local, foreign, public, natural, karma eventually catch up with you.
Wakenya, kula kidogo chako…
Wakenya, kula kidogo chako. Lets uproot and destroy inborn genes of stealing that is in every Kenyan wherever they are, including me. Am surprised people aint interested in me, maybe because they sense that whatever little I have was gotten through bloodily majuus sweat. This guy Gichuru and his buddy Biwotto and Okemo plundered KPLC and KPC like the corporations were their personal entities. So why enjoy your youthful days stealing and swimming in luxury, and then during retirement, they catch up on you. Gichuru and Okemo will be inmates’s wives somewhere in one of the Kamiti Maximum prison in Jersey. Sad.