Editor's Review

Kilukumi raised concerns before the court as to whether the Constitution allows for the investigator to also be the prosecutor and lead to a fair trial in the case.


Lawyers Kioko Kilukumi and Cecil Miller Jr on Thursday, October 28, 2021, asked the court that the Director of Public Prosecution be abdicated in the Ksh17 billion tax evasion case against businessman Humphrey Kariuki.

Kilukumi raised concerns before the court as to whether the Constitution allows for the investigator to also be the prosecutor and lead to a fair trial in the case.

"We have never raised this issue before because it never happens, where a complainant is given the role of a prosecutor," he argued.

Kilukumi noted that Carol Sigei, a prosecutor with the DPP allegedly told the court that they are leaving the prosecution in the hands of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

"The issue that arose that day is whether the DPP of the Republic of Kenya can ever walk out of a prosecution and it remains constitutionally viable," he argued.

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Miller noted that on April 15, 2021, the DPP made a submission indicating that he was abdicating their role in the case.

The Ksh17 billion tax evasion case against billionaire Kariuki and others finally commenced on Monday, October 25 with the prosecution indicating it had lined up twenty-two witnesses.

The case is being prosecuted by counsels from KRA after the DPP delegated his prosecutorial powers.

In its opening statement, the prosecution adduced documentary exhibits to demonstrate the tax fraud scheme by the accused persons.

Some of the evidence KRA is set to produce include fake exercise stamps and goods.

“We will show you gross omission of income, we will show you how all this culminated in tax losses of Sh17 billion,” KRA said.

Kariuki through lawyers Kilukumi and Miller said he has confidence in the judicial system and he is confident that he will eventually be acquitted.

“I am a law-abiding citizen who has endured a nearly two-year legal ordeal on spurious charges that have continued to be litigated publicly,” he said.

In this case, Humphrey and his co-accused have been charged with failing to pay taxes amounting to Kshh17 billion between February 2016 and December 2018.