Nairobi Court Terminates Sh50 Million Land Fraud Case Against Cyrus Jirongo

A Nairobi court has terminated a Sh50 million land fraud case against politician Cyrus Jirongo.

Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi on Wednesday terminated the case dating back to 24 years ago following a Supreme Court order barring further prosecution of Jirongo.

“I find merit in the notice of motion that issued the orders… The offense was committed nearly two and half a decade ago and the relevant transactions may be lost, misplaced, or tampered with,” magistrate Andayi ruled.

Following the apex court order, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) applied to have the forgery case against the former Lugari MP withdrawn under section 87A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

While terminating the case, magistrate Andayi ordered a cash bail of Sh200,000 refunded to Jirongo, who moved to Supreme Court in 2019 challenging a ruling that set aside Justice George Odunga's orders quashing the charges against him.

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court faulted the Appeals Court for setting aside the orders of Justice Odunga.

“It is, therefore, our finding and in agreement with the learned judge of the High Court that the prosecution of Jirongo is in breach of his right to a fair trial as protected by Article 25(C) as read with Article 50 of the Constitution,” the Supreme Court judges ruled.

Jirongo was accused of forging signatures of his business partners Sammy Kogo and Antoinette Boit to obtain a Sh50 million bank loan in September 1992.