Court Blocks Sirisia MP John Walukhe from Traveling to the US

The High Court has dismissed an application by Sirisia MP John Walukhe seeking to have his passport released for him to travel abroad.

Walukhe had requested the court to release his passport to allow him to travel to the United States to attend official duty.

Justice Esther Maina declined the application on Thursday, saying the MP cannot be granted the passport to travel out of the country because he is a convict.

Walukhe was in June last year sentenced to 10 years in prison with an option of paying a fine of Sh727 million.

This was after he was found guilty of defrauding the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) of Sh313 million alongside his co-accused Grace Wakhungu, who was also handed a 10-year jail term with an option of paying a Sh707 million fine.

The two are directors of Erad Supplies & General Contracts Limited, the company through which they were supposed to supply 40,000 tons of maize to NCPB in 2004.

Walukhe spent four months behind bars before he was released on Sh10 million cash bail pending the hearing of an appeal filed at the High Court.