The hearing of a case in which former PCEA Moderator David Gathanju and two others are charged with stealing Sh 50.9 million from the church failed to take off .
When the matter came up for hearing, Prosecution counsel Donnex Ongira told Kiambu Senior Principal Magistrate Stella Atambo that they had obtained a court order8 from the High Court Staying the hearings.
The state has moved to the high Court in Kiambu seeking a revision of the judgment issued by Ms Atambo in November last year that ddismissed an application by the ODPP seeking to withdraw the case against the trio under Section 87(A).
The Magistrate in her judgment termed the application by ODPP as note merited, off the mark and incompetent.
The ruling was a win for Gathanju and his two co-accused James Njane and Peter Kamuthu who had opposed the application by the prosecution saying they instead wanted a total termination of the case.
If a case is withdrawn under 87(A), the state can charge the accused afresh after getting fresh details and evidence.
The magistrate noted that the accused persons took plea three years ago and only one witness has since testified.
She observed the constitution requires that such cases with so much public interest be heard without undue delay.
In a supporting affidavit filed in the High Court by Mr Ongira, the DPP maintains that there is insufficient evidence to mount a successful prosecution without proper investigations being conducted and consideration of the evidence newly acquired.
Mr Ongira adds that the DPP formed firm professional opinion that it is not fit to present or pursue for prosecution in court without consideration of new evidence and that accordingly the proceedings ought to be terminated with the permission of the court.
Kiambu High Court on February 1 issued an order halting any hearing of the case until any further orders of the court.
Mr Gathanju who served as the moderator of PCEA General Assembly between 2009 and 2015 have been charged alongside Mr Njane and Mr Kamuthu with stealing Sh 50.9 from the church.
The three are charged that on diverse dates between January 2, 2016 and June 30, 2017 at PCEA headquarters in Nairobi’s South C estate, they stole Sh 50.9 million from the church.
In a second count, they are accused of stealing Sh 50.9 million that came into their possession by virtue of their employment.
They denied the charges and are out on a Sh 1 million bond