Eleven suspects linked to the Sh791 National Youth Service scam have finally been charged with money laundering.
The suspects including business people Josephine Kabura and Ben Gethi denied 15 counts before Nairobi chief magistrate Daniel Ogembo.
A warrant of arrest was issued for Gethi’s sister Jedida Wangari who did not appear in court.The suspects allegedly committed the offences between December 2014 and March 2015.
They were to answer to the charges in February but were yet to following multiple applications. High Court Justice Joseph Onguto ordered charges against them in June after dismissing their seven applications.
Onguto said Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko did not abuse his powers in preferring charges against them, and that their prosecution was justified.
The suspects then moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to stop the charges against them.They had urged Ogembo to delay their plea taking to allow them to pursue the appeal.
Gethi’s mother was cleared from the case after investigators failed to verify that her property was acquired through stolen money.