The Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission has 21 days to respond to a plea deal agreement in former Migori Governor Zacharia Obado’s graft case.
This is after the graft body informed the trial court that they had not been served with a copy of the said agreement by the prosecution, leaving them in the dark.
Trial Magistrate Charles Ondieki directed the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to serve the EACC within three days, thereafter, respond within 21 days.
Counsel watching brief for the graft body had told court that they are not opposed to the negotiations as alleged.
The court heard that even though EACC had participated in the negotiation meetings, the lawyer had not been served with the draft agreement to enable him to seek further directions from his superiors.
According to DPP, the agreement follows a formal request by the accused persons to resolve the matter through an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The defense team argued that plea bargain agreements only require the signatures of the accused and the prosecution.
They insisted EACC had already benefitted from properties worth Sh 235 million and thus had no further role in the criminal process.
However, the graft body maintained that its participation was legally required since it was the investigating body in the corruption case.
They argued that excluding the commission would undermine the law and the public interest in anti-corruption matters.
The magistrate ruled that although EACC’s signature is not mandatory in plea bargains, it had indisputably participated in the negotiations and therefore deserved to review the agreement.
“The court finds it prudent that the DPP shares the agreement with EACC to deal with it in a manner it deems fit,” the magistrate ruled.
The case will be mention virtually on 30th September for directions.
Obado is charged alongside his four children and 11 others.
