Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, alongside two others, has been acquitted of charges linked to the county's Finland and Canada overseas education programme after a Nakuru court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Nakuru Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege, who found that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to warrant placing the three on their defence.
In his ruling, Ndege said the court was guided by the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence and could not require the persons facing trial to defend themselves where the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
"Every case in the final analysis will have to depend upon its own facts. I find that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case in any of the charges herein, which shall be of no use to put the accused on their defence, as that shall mean shifting the burden of proving their innocence or otherwise to them," the magistrate said.
He emphasised that the decision did not amount to a declaration that those on trial were factually innocent, but rather that the prosecution had not met the legal threshold required under the law.
"In arriving at this finding, the court does not necessarily make a definite finding that the accused are factually innocent of the offences with which they are charged. It is simply a finding that the prosecution has failed to prove their guilt, and they are therefore constitutionally deemed to be innocent. That is what our law provides," Ndege said.
The magistrate noted that while some members of the public might disagree with the outcome, Kenyan courts are bound by the Constitution and the rule of law.
"Democracy is often an inefficient and at times a messy system. Dictatorship, on the other hand, might be quite efficient and less messy. In dictatorship, we could simply round up all those we suspect to be involved in corruption and economic crimes and lock them up without much ado. That is not the path Kenya has taken. It has opted for the rule of law, and the rule of law implies due process," he said.
Ndege consequently dismissed all the charges against the three under Section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code and acquitted them.
As soon as the magistrate concluded the ruling and thanked the court, the courtroom erupted into applause and jubilation, with Mandago's supporters cheering, clapping and celebrating the acquittal of the senator and the two others.
Speaking after the ruling, Mandago called on beneficiaries who, he claimed, received support from the education trust using funds intended for other students to refund the money.
"I want to ask the beneficiaries who know themselves, who benefited from the programme and are enjoying its benefits, to speak to their conscience and refund the money to the trust so that those parents who are suffering out there can get their money," he said.
The senator also urged the Uasin Gishu County Government to take responsibility for following up the matter.
"The politics of the programme is now over. We want to ask the county government because that is a county programme, to take responsibility and follow up and make sure that those parents are refunded," Mandago said.
The case stemmed from allegations that hundreds of students and parents were defrauded through the a Uasin Gishu overseas education programme.
