The Nakuru High Court has set free suspended Maasai Mara University VC Prof. Mary Walingo and four other senior university officials who were charged in the KSh177 million corruption scandal.

While delivering his ruling on Thursday, March 21, Justice Hillary Chemitei said that all the charges preferred against the accused persons were defective and unconstitutional.

Chemitei noted that the evidence tabled against the accused persons were not sufficient and that their charge sheet were drawn by the police instead of the Office of Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

Prof. Walingo and the four co-accused were on August 26, 2020 charged with conspiracy to embezzle KSh177,007,754 from Maasai Mara University’s account between January 24, 2016, and July 19, 2019.

The four who were charged alongside Prof. Walingo include; Simon Kasaine Ole Seno (Deputy VC in charge of Administration), John Almadi Obere (Deputy VC in charge of Finance and Planning), Anacklet Biket Okumu (former Acting Deputy VC Academic and Student Affairs), and Noor Hassan Abdi (Prof. Walingo’s driver).

Prosecution had argued that Prof. Walingo, as the custodian of the university’s accounts, had authorised expenditures worth million of shillings without proper documentation. That Prof. Walingo jointly with others not before the court had conspired to defraud the institution by making false entries in the cash book.

She had also faced four separate charges of abuse of office, willful failure to comply with the law relating to the management of public funds.

Prof. Walingo has always maintained her innocence, arguing that hers were fictitious charges because the university did not lodge any formal complaints.

She further argued that the Auditor General’s report for the years between 2016 and 2022 had indicated that no funds had been embezzled, accusing the DCI and ODPP of insubordination.