By The Weekly Vision Reporter
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has failed to block the release of Ksh 20,500,000 to a firm that supplied a fire engine to the Marsabit County Government. In his ruling, Justice Francis Rayola Odel noted that the firm, Drecoll Limited, had already been paid Ksh 42 million out of the Ksh 62 million it had quoted during the tendering process in the 2018/2019 financial year.
The firm had earlier won a case it filed against the county government, Marsabit HCCC No. 3 of 2020, Drecoll Limited v Marsabit County Government, in which it was awarded costs and interest.
“The question that this court has to grapple with is whether it can issue an injunction to stop payment of a decree issued by a different court of concurrent jurisdiction. Courts are expected to uphold the orders of other courts in order to maintain the dignity and consistency of the judicial process. Issuing an injunction in this suit, as against a valid decree issued by another court, would undermine judicial integrity. The only tenable position is for the parties to go back and litigate in Marsabit HCCC No. 3 of 2020, Drecoll Limited v Marsabit County Government, as the first port of call,” the judge ruled.
The judge also relied on the provisions of Section 34(1) of the Civil Procedure Act, which stipulate that “all questions arising between the parties to the suit in which the decree was passed, or their representatives, and relating to the execution, discharge, or satisfaction of the decree, shall be determined by the court executing the decree and not by a separate suit.”
“Considering the foregoing, I find that the applicant has failed to establish a prima facie case with a high probability of success, nor can this court issue an order to stay execution of the decree issued in Marsabit HCCC No. 3 of 2020. Having so established, the next limbs of irreparable injury and balance of convenience need not be considered,” the judge stated.
The court further declined to consolidate the matter with Marsabit HCCC No. 3 of 2020, noting that the latter suit had already been determined and a valid decree extracted on 23 September 2020.
According to importation documents, Drecoll imported the fire engine from Turkey at about €98,200, equivalent to Ksh 11,334,833.20, plus additional cumulative charges and insurance of Ksh 341,856.62.
However, EACC argued that the fire engine was supplied to the county government at an exaggerated price, claiming that its valuation did not exceed Ksh 29,100,000.
