Court Overturns Former Accountant's Conviction in Wheelbarrow Case

The Kakamega High Court has nullified the sentencing of John Juma Matsanza, a former prominent accountant in Bungoma County, who had been handed a two-year prison sentence for procuring non-carcinogenic wheelbarrows at exorbitant prices.

Matsanza had been imprisoned for willfully failing to comply with laws related to the management of funds and expenditure. He was initially charged by the Chief Magistrate's Court for violating procurement rules by awarding a tender to Jagia Enterprise to supply 10 wheelbarrows at Sh109,000 each for a slaughterhouse.

Convicted of two counts, Matsanza was ordered to either pay a fine of Sh400,000 for each count or serve a two-year jail term. However, Justice Chirchir Chebet, while overturning the sentence, highlighted that the Anti-Corruption Court in Kakamega had failed to adhere to the EACC Act during both the investigation and trial of Matsanza.

Justice Chebet stated, “In the present case, the circumstances were such that not only was the trial illegal, but the entire investigation was tainted with illegalities. It cannot be said that the admissible or potentially admissible evidence on record would secure a conviction if a retrial were to be ordered. Ordering a retrial on the basis of such evidence would result in the same outcome. Therefore, a retrial cannot be the next course of action in this case.”

She also directed the EACC to initiate a new trial if they chose to, emphasizing, “This conclusion does not preclude the EACC from taking further action against the appellant, provided there is compliance with the EACC Act, the Constitution, and other applicable laws.”

In his appeal, Matsanza argued that there were no commissioners in office during his investigation and the commencement of his prosecution, a period from May 2015 to January 23, 2016. He contended that the EACC was not properly constituted during this time, and thus, no one was authorized to sanction his investigation or recommend his prosecution.

Justice Chebet addressed this argument by examining whether the commission’s secretary, as head of the secretariat, could fulfill the commission's legal mandate in the absence of commissioners. 

She concluded, “In the absence of the commissioners, the secretariat could not investigate and recommend to the DPP the prosecution of the appellant. The entire process was null. The investigation and prosecution of the appellant were therefore void from the start. The conviction and sentence are hereby quashed.”

The appellant benefited from this ruling as the State did not contest his submission, which was thus treated as an admitted fact. The wheelbarrows in question were purchased in November 2013, during Ken Lusaka’s tenure as Governor of Bungoma County.