Supreme Court okays extradition of Okemo, Gichuru » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 5 – Former Finance Minister Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power Managing Director Samuel Gichuru have lost a bid to block their extradition to New Jersey island to face justice.

Supreme Court judges overturned the judgement of the Court of Appeal which stopped the extradition proceedings before the Chief Magistrate’s court.

The judges, Chief Justice Martha Koome, Mohammed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndungu and William Ouko and Smoking Wanjala say the Director of Public Prosecutions rightly commenced the extradition proceedings before the Magistrate’s court.

They disallowed the judgment of the Court of Appeal which held that its the Attorney General who ought to have commenced the extradition proceedings

They said the extradition proceedings are criminal in nature which ought to start with a criminal investigation and not through the AG.

They pointed out that the proceedings before the Magistrate’s Court which had been triggered by the authority to proceed issued on in July 2011 by the DPP to continue forthwith and on a priority basis.

The Court of Appeal judges had in March 2018 declared invalid the extradition proceedings initiated by the DPP against the two.