Court of Appeal Judge Otieno Odek to testify against Ojienda

Court of Appeal Judge Professor James Otieno Odek will testify as a prosecution witness in the case against lawyer Professor Tom Ojienda.

In a statement on Monday, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji said Court of Appeal Judge Professor James Otieno Odek has recorded a statement regarding affairs of the Mumias Sugar Company and will be a prosecution witness.

Haji said contrary to reports in a section of the media Prof. Odek was not in any way involved in the matters leading to the prosecution of prominent Nairobi lawyer Professor Tom Ojienda and is therefore not criminally culpable.

Investigations by the Director of Criminal Investigations had shown that Ksh 89 million was paid out through fraudulent schemes in Mumias Sugar Company which led to the DCI recommending criminal charges to be instituted against Prof. Ojienda, Mumias Sugar Company former finance director Peter Kibati and former company secretary Emily Otieno.

The trio will be charged withObtaining Money by false pretences contrary to section 313 of the Penal code, Uttering false documents contrary to section 353 of the Penal code, Abuse of office contrary to section 101(1) of the Penal code and Conspiracy to defraud contrary to section 317 of the Penal code.

Ojienda was released on Sunday from custody after spending two nights behind bars is expected to be charged in court alongside two others.

The DPP at the same time assured that his office will continue to wage war on corruption independently without fear or favour.