Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has dropped Ksh1.1 billion in corruption charges against former National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) CEO Geoffrey Mwangi.
In his ruling, Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Victor Wakumile allowed the prosecution’s application to withdraw the graft charges against Mwangi under section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
“I find that sufficient grounds have been laid in support of the application to withdraw the charges. Therefore the case against Mwangi is to be withdrawn,” Wakumile ruled.
The magistrate also urged the DPP to review the entire case against 17 other co-accused persons.
He, however, granted the DPP 15 days to also review charges against CEO Simeon Ole Kirgotty and 16 others.
The decision by the DPP to withdraw the charges was prompted by a letter by lawyer Migosi Ogamba which invited the DPP to find that there was no evidence to charge the former CEO.
The former CEO was charged with the loss of public funds relating to the award of an NHIF contract to Web Tribe Limited for the provision of integrated revenue collection.
Webtribe Limited and its directors Danson Muchemi and Robert Muna were also charged together with Mwangi, and 16 others over the loss of Ksh1.1 billion at NHIF.
The DPP later on June 8, 2020, dropped charges against Webtribe and its directors after reviewing the file.
