Besieged Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Ndegwa Muhoro has now shifted blame to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the delay in conclusion of investigations into the protracted Tatu City court case.
Muhoro, who addressed a rare press conference at the CID headquarters this morning, insinuated that DPP Keriako Tobiko had been slow or unwilling, for six months now, to provide legal advice on various matters as requested by the DCI.
“These matters (on Tatu City) were investigated and the files forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution in September 2015 seeking for legal advice. Until last week, when the files were referred to the Multi-Agency Team (MAT), my office was still waiting for DPP to advise us on the way forward,” said Muhoro.
According to him, his office lacked the authority to proceed because the matter is under the power/review of another office. In fact, the Director said, there are several other pending matters forwarded to the ODPP but which, to date, have not been acted upon.
“We have no control of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who has the final say on who should be prosecuted or not. I hasten to add that several other files long forwarded to the ODPP for advise are yet to find their way back to our end to allow conclusion of investigations.”
Last week, the ODPP revealed that Muhoro’s office deliberately misled his office by sending two different files to him (Tobiko) with conflicting recommendations over multibillion land ownership saga at Tatu City. It is this revelation, perhaps, that caused the DCI to respond in kind by shifting the blame to Tobiko’s office.
Previously, there have been claims that the DCI bungled the investigations to favour a group led by former Central Bank governor Nahashon Nyaga, in exchange for 300 acres of land as well as monetary inducements amounting to Sh50 million. Nyaga is accused of attempting to defraud the owners of Tatu City out of their land, despite investing nothing in the project.
As Muhoro seeks to exonerate himself, however, it doesn’t escape note that the reason he gives for his capacity to conclude investigations begs some; Will he never conclude investigations just because the ODPP has failed to offer legal advice on how he should proceed? What is the nature of the advisory sought by the DCI that without ODPP’s response, investigations could not proceed? Aren’t these two offices independent of each other?
Separately, Muhoro slammed media houses, singling out an article in the current Issue of the Nairobi Law Monthly as well as reporting by two daily newspapers as, in his own words, “an attack on my ability to carry out my duties, professional qualifications, integrity and on the entire Directorate of Criminal Investigations”, and threatened legal action.
