File image of Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi Kiambu Governor Paul Kimani Wamatangi has suffered a major legal setback after the High Court dismissed his application to withdraw from a KSh 813.1 million asset recovery lawsuit brought by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). High Court Judge Rose Ougo rejected preliminary objections from Wamatangi and several co-defendants, paving the way for the anti-graft watchdog’s civil recovery proceedings to move forward. In her ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Ougo dismissed Wamatangi’s claim that the EACC case violated the sub judice rule due to a pending constitutional petition that had granted him conservatory relief. Justice Ougo noted that the governor failed to prove the constitutional petition involved identical parties or central issues. “The first defendant (Wamatangi) has merely told the court that the suit hearing was sub judice to the constitutional petition. He has, however, failed to inform this court, nor has he provided any documentation to show that the parties in this case are similar to those in this case and that the issues raised therein are the same as those in the present suit,” the judge observed. EACC prosecutors clarified that previous conservatory orders only barred the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) from filing criminal charges against Wamatangi, leaving the commission fr...
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