Human Rights Activist Okiya Omtatah has moved to court seeking seeking orders declaring that DPP Haji is unfit to hold public office.
Omtatah is seeking a declaration that Haji is unfit to hold public office, for having overstepped and abused his powers when he usurped powers the Constitution and the law reserve for the judiciary, the Central Bank of Kenya, and the Financial Reporting Center.
He said that the DPP did so when, instead of charging in court bank suspects accused of facilitating the theft of public funds through what has come to be popularly known as the second National Youth Service scandal (NYS II), he entered deals with, fined the commercial banks some Sh721 million, and set the banks free when they paid the money into the Prosecutions Fund, which is established under section 45 of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act.
“Under the law of the Republic of Kenya, plea bargaining deals and/or deferred prosecution agreements, between the prosecutor and suspects, can only be reached with the supervision of a court. Nowhere in the law does the DPP have the powers to enter into opaque deals with suspects (banks) and free them without accounting for his actions before a court of law”He added in court documents.
The activist adds that Banks are regulated for anti-money laundering by the Central Bank of Kenya under the Banking Act (Cap 488), and by the Financial Reporting Centre under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA).
“The Central Bank is empowered under Section 33(4) of the Banking Act to issue directions to institutions with respect to the standards to be adhered to in the conduct of its business. Section 55 of the Act empowers the Central Bank to make regulations and prescribes the penalties to be paid by institutions that fail or refuse to comply with any directions of the Central Bank under the Act”he adds.
High Court Judge Weldon Korir has directed the activist to serve the DPP with the petition for mention on September 30,2020.
