A Nairobi court has acquitted former Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Managing Director Charles Tanui and former Chief Manager Elias Karumi over corruption allegations involving the irregular payment of Ksh 35 million for the supply of three transformers a decade ago.
In a detailed ruling, Chief Magistrate Victor Wakumile of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court stated that the evidence presented proved that Tanui and Karumi were not involved in the tender committee’s deliberations regarding the procurement of the three autotransformers.
The contract was between KPC and Redline Limited for the replacement of damaged autotransformers. Tanui had argued that the direct procurement was approved by KPC’s Tender Committee and that he relied on reports from technical and finance departments, confirming that procurement procedures were followed.
Analyzing the evidence, Wakumile ruled that since Tanui and Karumi were not part of the tender and inspection committee discussions, they could not have influenced the decisions made.
“They acted on the documents presented to them based on mutual trust and are therefore blameless,” said the magistrate.
He further noted that no evidence suggested the two abused their positions or benefited from the payments, questioning why charges were pursued despite exonerating evidence from witnesses.
“I find it rather weird that, amid all the exonerative evidence tendered by witnesses, these charges were still preferred against Tanui and Karumi. The case against them appears to have been weaponized,” said Wakumile.
He added, “I shudder to imagine that one can dedicate their career to service, only to end up in court on charges built on quicksand.”
However, Wakumile placed the third accused, Joshat Sirma, on his defence, stating that a prima facie case had been established against him.
“I shall not tender the reasons for doing so at this juncture,” he ruled. Tanui had faced charges of abuse of office and willful failure to comply with procurement laws. It was alleged that in 2014, he improperly authorized a Ksh 30 million payment to Redline Limited for the supply, installation, and commissioning of Line 2 station autotransformers without proper testing.
Additionally, he was accused of approving a payment of €261,070 (Ksh 35 million) to Redline without a signed contract. He was accused of knowingly signing a falsified inspection report to certify works under the tender without lawful authority.
