Sh. 30 billion. This is the total amount of money in fraud and tax cases that some of President William Ruto’s friends have been facing in court.
These friends are now free, thanks to the speed with which the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji has been dropping and withdrawing cases against Ruto friends.
The most high ranking case has been that of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua whose Sh. 7.5 billion fraud case has already been withdrawn.
He was followed by billionaire Humphrey Kariuki whose Sh. 17 billion tax evasion have been quashed by the High Court in Nairobi. Billionaire Kariuki, who is the owner of the Thika-based factory Africa Spirits Limited, has since been appointed as a member at the National Investment Council.
The other latest Ruto ally to be freed from a multi-billion case is Mary Wambui Mungai. She has been facing tax fraud charges of up to Sh. 2.2 billion.
In the first week of December 2022, she was appointed as the chairperson of the Communications Authority of Kenya. Days later, the Kenya Revenue Authority told a court that it intended to withdraw a Sh. 2.2 billion suit against Wambui after reaching an out-of-court agreement.
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These case withdrawals have been compounded by President Ruto’s appointment of uninspiring characters to government commissions. These are persons who are equally facing fraud charges.
One of these is former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu who is in court over corruption. Waititu has been appointed by Ruto to the Nairobi Rivers Commission for a period of three years.
The anti-corruption court has also acquitted former Kenya Pipeline Company managing director Joe Sang. Sang was facing charges related to the Sh. 1.9 billion Kisumu Oil Jetty. The anti-corruption court cited lack of evidence as the reason for his acquittal.