Former Kenyan Minister Kogsey denies corruption charges against him

[News_Editor]

Former Kenyan Minister Kogsey denies corruption charges against him

2011-01-05 00:53:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAIROBI, KENYA (BNO NEWS) -- Former Kenyan Industrialization Minister Henry Kogsey on Tuesday denied the corruption charges and was released on bail, local media reported.

Kogsey appeared before the anti-corruption court in Nairobi as he was charged with twelve counts of abuse of office charges. Kogsey is also the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party chairman.

The former minister is accused of using his position to exempt 123 imported vehicles for certain individuals and organizations in Kenya from the application of the nation's Standards code of practice for road vehicles without the advice of the National Standards Council.

Kogsey's attorneys asked the court to release him on a free bond as they cited that the former minister has served the country for over 30 years. However, the request was denied and Kogsey was freed after paying a $25,850 bail.

According to the charges, the former minister used his position at the Ministry of Industrialization headquarters, in the Teleposta Towers in Nairobi to favor Hussein Mohamed of Lagdera Technologies.

On November 19, 2009, Kogsey exempted four vehicles imported by the company from the application of Kenya Standards code of practice for road vehicles under the legal notice.

Previously, the ODM chairman also exempted two vehicles imported by Simon Maina Kamau and one vehicle imported by Lawrence Karanja Waweru in February 2009. One month later, he exempted 20 motor vehicles for Yuasa International Limited, a motor vehicle importer with 22 additional units on June 3.

The former minister is also suspected of several other similar cases involving car importer companies for a total of 123 exempted vehicles. If found guilty, Kogsey may spend the next ten years behind bars.

Kenya prohibited importing of vehicles manufactured eight or more years before the date of importation. The Standards Act allows the Industrialization Minister to allow vehicles older that eight years to be brought into the country but on the advice of the board of Kenya Bureau of Standards.

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