Former Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal can now reclaim his political career after the High Court overturned his conviction in a high-profile Sh84 million corruption case, citing lack of evidence of wrongdoing in fuel supply contracts at the county government.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Benjamin Musyoki ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove key elements of the case against Lenolkulal and his co-accused, Hesbon Jack Wachira Ndathi and Bernard Ltarasi Lesurmat.
“This court finds that the appeals herein are merited and are hereby allowed. The convictions and sentences meted against the appellants… are set aside, and consequently the appellants Moses Kasaine Lenolkulal, Hesbon Jack Wachira Ndathi, and Bernard Ltarasi Lesurmat are hereby acquitted of the offences they were charged with in the said case,” Justice Musyoki declared.
The court also ordered that any fines previously paid by the three be refunded forthwith.
In addition, it set aside the previous order under Section 64 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) that barred the trio from holding public office for ten years, effectively clearing the way for Lenolkulal to seek public positions.
Lenolkulal had initially been convicted on charges of conflict of interest and unlawful acquisition of public property, with the court ruling that he had knowingly acquired a direct private interest in a contract between Oryx Service Station, a company he owned, and the Samburu County Government for the supply of fuel.
Upon conviction, he had been ordered to pay fines totaling Sh85,460,995 or serve a four-year jail term.
Ndathi was accused of acting as a proxy to mask Lenolkulal’s interests, while Lesurmat faced charges of abuse of office.
The trial court had concluded that the three had misappropriated Sh84,695,996.55 from county funds.
However, Justice Musyoki observed that the prosecution’s case was fundamentally flawed.
He noted that the investigating officer had clarified their focus was on potential conflict of interest, not procurement irregularities.
“The trial court in reaching the fine imposed on the appellants relied on the element of benefit to the said appellants. A benefit is an advantage or profit gained from something… The duo cannot be said to have benefited from the entire sum of Sh84,695,996.55, as there were attendant costs and expenses associated with delivery and supply of the fuel. I do not think that this is the kind of benefit contemplated under the Section,” the judge noted.
The Court also questioned the assumption that Lenolkulal and Ndathi shared benefits equally, highlighting that evidence suggested Ndathi was merely a proxy.
Justice Musyoki clarified that for a charge under Section 48 of ACECA to succeed, there must be a quantifiable benefit to the accused or a demonstrable loss to another party.
In this case, the court found that the county had received the fuel and that no procurement irregularities or financial loss had been proven.
Regarding Lesurmat, the court found no evidence of abuse of office or improper benefit.
“The prosecution did not establish any special relationship between Ndathi and Lesurmat… it was not even shown that Lesurmat knew Ndathi at a personal level,” he ruled
The judge also emphasized that Lenolkulal had appropriately disclosed any potential conflict of interest.
“The 1st appellant had sufficiently declared possible conflict of interest, and it was the duty of those responsible for entering the information in the conflict of interest register to make appropriate entries,” Justice Musyoki said.
Last year, the trial court had ruled that Lenolkulal and Ndathi had engaged in conflict of interest and acquired public funds unlawfully.
Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki had stated, “The overwhelming and direct evidence shows that the Governor acted in conflict of interest and acquired direct personal benefit from the supply of fuel. A governor stands prohibited from trading with his county government.”
