Ruling Set in Case of Dealer Accused of Dishonestly Retaining Ksh 3 Million KETRACO Copper Wire
During the cross-examination by the defence, the officer admitted that the copper wires, which were in pieces, were not labelled to confirm their companies of origin but were labelled by a third party.
The Nairobi magistrate’s court will deliver the ruling on whether an accused person who is charged with dishonestly retaining earthing copper wire worth over Ksh 3 million has a case to answer or not.
Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki is scheduled to deliver the ruling on November 20, 2025, after the prosecution closed its case after calling all the witnesses.
The magistrate scheduled the ruling after the officer investigating the matter had finalised and closed the list of witnesses who testified against Sheila Chao Mwaikwasi, the accused.
While giving his testimony, the officer investigating the matter, Nicholas Ole Sina, told the magistrate that the wires are the property of Kenya Transmission Company (KETRACO).
He indicated to the court that every scrap metal dealer must have a report, which the accused person did not have.
The accused, through her lawyer Danstan Omari, produced the documents from American Telecommunication, Philips International Auctioneers, Face Engineering Works Limited, United Support Office Somalia and Lake Turkana Wind Transformers, where he sourced the wire. The officer doubted the documents.
The accused, who is a scrap metal dealer, through her lawyer, told the court that the documents were produced to indicate where she sourced the wires and denied the allegations by investigators that they were stolen or illegally obtained.
During the cross-examination by the defence, the officer admitted that the copper wires, which were in pieces, were not labelled to confirm their companies of origin but were labelled by a third party.
“Please confirm to the court that the wires are not labelled to determine which company they were taken from.” Yes, I confirm.
The officer also admitted that third parties labelled the wires, but not him.
Further, the officer admitted that those who identified the wires, whom he referred to as experts, did not produce their qualification documents as required by law.
The ruling on the matter will be delivered on November 20, 2025, whether the accused has a case to answer or not.
