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Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and 16 others have been acquitted in a Sh 357 million corruption case.
While issuing the ruling on Wednesday, February 7, Milimani Magistrate Eunice Nyutu said there was inadequate evidence against the former governor and the 16 others.
Nyutu noted that the evidence presented before the court was inadequate to convict the 17 suspects.
"After carefully considering the testimony of six witnesses, the evidence adduced is inadequate to sustain the charges leveled against the accused persons," Nyutu said.
The magistrate blamed the prosecution for bangling the graft case after only calling six witnesses out of the thirty-eight they had indicated would testify against the accused.
"The prosecution only managed to call six witnesses before they bungled up their case," Nyutu added.
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In the case which has been in court since 2019, Sonko and the 16 others are accused of embezzling public funds to the tune of Ksh.357 million from Nairobi County during his tenure as the governor.
The embezzlement was alleged to have taken place between May 24, 2018, and March 28, 2019.
Sonko and the co-accused were facing a total of 19 charges including money laundering and acquisition of proceeds of crime.
The ruling comes after the High Court rejected the DPP’s application to set aside a 2023 ruling, that directed the prosecution to close the case against Sonko.
Justice Nixon Sifuna dismissed the application and directed it to proceed as planned in the trial court.
