Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok was on Tuesday arraigned before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court, where he faced seven counts of corruption, including the unlawful acquisition of property and receiving Sh2 million in suspected graft proceeds.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate , Governor Barchok and Evans Kipng’eno Korir a director of Chemasus Construction Limited, pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
According to the charge sheet, the governor is accused of receiving Sh2 million from a private contractor as a kickback linked to fraudulent procurement deals.
The funds, investigators allege, were disguised through intermediaries and used to facilitate the acquisition of property in Barchok’s name, an act said to violate provisions of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA).
The charges include conflict of interest, unlawful acquisition of public property, and handling proceeds of crime, all allegedly committed while Barchok was in office as the county’s chief executive.
Through his legal team led by senior counsel Issa Mansur, Governor Barchok urged the court to consider releasing him on a free bond, insisting that he is a law-abiding citizen willing to fully cooperate with the court.
“My client is ready to abide by all court directives. He has no intention of interfering with witnesses or obstructing the judicial process in any way,” Mansur told the court, further arguing that the charges were “not unusual” for individuals in political office and did not warrant custodial conditions.
The prosecution, led by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda, did not oppose the release of Governor Barchok and his co-accused on bail.
However, he asked the court to impose strict conditions given the nature and seriousness of the charges.
Monda submitted that, upon release: “They should not leave the jurisdiction of the court without the permission of the Trial Court.”
He also asked the court to bar the accused persons from contacting or interfering with prosecution witnesses, either directly or through their proxies:
“Upon service of the evidentiary material by the prosecution, they should not contact or interfere in any way, either by themselves or through their proxies, with the prosecution witnesses.”
Furthermore, Monda requested that:“If any of the accused persons hold a passport, the same should be deposited in court, and they must seek the court’s permission should they wish to travel outside the country.”
He concluded by asking the court to caution the accused against making any public or indirect comments that could compromise the integrity of the case:
“They should not make any comments, either by themselves or through their proxies, in order to preserve the integrity of this case.”
The bail hearing is currently ongoing.
