Former Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) director Davy Koech, who was convicted of defrauding the State of Sh19.3 million, has been pardoned by President William Ruto.
Koech was one of 37 people the Head of State pardoned under the Power of Mercy Act 2011 on the advice of the Advisory Committee, a Gazette Notice indicates.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that in the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 133 of the Constitution of Kenya and section 23 (1) of the Power of Mercy Act, 2011, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy, granted the petitions of (the aforementioned),” the notice reads.
Koech recently contested a ruling rendered by Magistrate Victor Wakumile in September 2021 on grounds that it was flawed.
Read: Former KEMRI Boss Davy Koech Convicted of Fraud, Fined Ksh19.6 Million
Mr Wakumile ordered the accused to pay a Sh19.6 million fine or serve six years in prison after being found guilty on three charges of illegal acquisition of public property.
On August 17, 2006, Koech was charged with unlawfully obtaining Sh800,000 in public property from the research facility.
According to the second and third charges, he obtained Sh6 million and a further Sh12.5 million from KEMRI on December 12, 2006, respectively.
Additionally, Koech was charged with using his position to transfer Sh19.3 million from the Vector Biological and Control Research (VBCR) account. The magistrate decided that there was adequate and convincing evidence to convict Koech.
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The former KEMRI director appealed the decision and asked the High Court to overturn it a year later.
But Justice Esther Maina dismissed the appeal, saying Koech had failed to show that the conviction he received was unfair.
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