In consideration of the application filed by the DCI, Kahawa principal magistrate Gideon Kiage found that it was merited since the applicant not only demonstrated reasonable suspicions but also showed that the enquiries sought were necessary to aid Investigations.
The DCI had filed an application before the Kahawa Magistrate’s court seeking an order for a warrant to investigate the documents held by Tatu City and ten other companies to obtain and carry on information which will be relied on as exhibit on the documents in question.
The investigators intended to advance Investigations on the allegations of forgery, illegal dilution of shares, assets, stripping, tax evasion and money laundering committed by the directors of Tatu City Limited and Kofinaf Company Limited and their associate companies.
The applicant contends that the documents brought by their application contain crucial information indicating that the respondents have been conducting transactions by receiving money from sales of various parcels of land belonging to Tatu City Limited and Kofinaf Company Limited and their directors have been in the course of transactions conspired with government officials from the Ministry of Lands to undervalue the parcels of land.
They indicate that the undervaluing was done in a bid to evade the correct payment of stamp duty where the directors of the two companies conspired with certain advocates to move the proceeds from the sale of the parcels of land to offshore bank accounts.
The respondents had filed their application through an affidavit sworn by James Marumi who is their lead counsel urging the court to dismiss the application by the DCI citing that they sought several warrants to investigate and seize privileged documents belonging to the respondents’ entities without disclosing who the complainants were.
Marumi indicated that the application did not disclose who the complainants are and it might have been filed to abuse the criminal system with ulterior motives to achieve other collateral purposes for the benefit of the undisclosed third parties.
He stated that the respondents were not served with the court order and they were not aware of the Investigations that were conducted against them.
The lawyer affirms that the DCI does not have the powers to investigate crimes under the Procedure Act, proceeds of Crime and Anti-money Laundering Act and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act.
He indicated that “the application lacked necessary evidence to justify the intrusive orders based on speculative claims rather than concrete facts.”
The application of that nature which was brought under section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code and section 180 of the Evidence Act, he affirms that it must be supported by reasonable grounds and clear evidence.
In dismissing the application, Kahawa principal magistrate Gideon Kiage stated that “the application herein is an attempt to re-litigate the application by the applicant which by law is canvassed ex-parte and that it is brought without legal foundation and I dismiss it accordingly.”