Mwadi women group has petitioned the magistrate’s court for leave to commence private prosecution against four individuals and one company over a land dispute.
They want the private prosecution done against land registrar’s Stephen Chege Njoroge and Diana Yagomba alongside directors of Reality Limited James Mugoye and Farid Andurazuk Sheikh.
The group argues that they are the registered owners of a land measuring 2.2 hectares valued at Ksh.300 million located along Mombasa Road.
The group claims that although the police conducted investigations and submitted their findings with a recommendation to prosecute, there has been inaction from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) since last year.
“The DPP’s authority is not absolute,” they submitted. “While we are not challenging the powers of the DPP, we emphasize that those powers are subject to the Constitution and oversight by the courts.”
The applicants assert that the case involves public interest litigation, as it relates to the loss of public funds and they argue that there is prima facie evidence of a constitutional breach.
They are calling on the court to intervene and are seeking leave to privately prosecute the respondents, alleging prosecutorial delay or unwillingness. In response, the ODPP in a response has refuted the allegations
The DPP argues that the remaining suspects shall be charged upon the completion of investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and once the evidence collected is submitted to the ODPP.
“A decision to charge will be made following our independent evaluation of the evidence to determine whether it is sufficient to sustain a charge,” reads court filed in court.
The DPP argued that it is therefore not necessary to mount private prosecutions against the suspects.
“Furthermore, the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the Respondent (ODPP) is unwilling or unable to prosecute the matter, which are the only valid grounds for an application of this nature.”
The matter is now before the magistrate, who will determine whether the threshold has been met to allow private prosecution, or if the actions already taken by the state suffice under the law.
