President William Ruto has pardoned ex-Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) director Davy Koech who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2021 after being found guilty of fraudulently acquiring Sh19.3 million.
Koech was among the 37 individuals the Head of State pardoned under the Power of Mercy Act 2011 upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that in the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 133 of the Constitution of Kenya and section 23 (1) of the Power of Mercy Act, 2011, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy, granted the petitions of (the aforementioned),” a gazette notice dated July 21 read.
Koech was found guilty of three counts f fraudulent acquisition of public property and was fined Sh19.6 million or a six-year jail term.
Former Kenya Medical Research Institute director Davy Koech
In the first charge, Koech was accused of irregularly acquiring Sh800,000 public property from the research institution on August 17, 2006. The second charge read that he acquired Sh 6 million fraudulently in December 2006 while in the third charge, he was accused of acquiring Sh12.5 million from KEMRI.
The former KEMRI boss was also accused of using his office to transfer Sh19.3 million held in the account of Vector Biological and Control Research (VBCR) account to himself. The funds had been designated for the Kisumu Center for Disease Control.
The magistrate ruled that there was sufficient reason beyond doubt that Koech was guilty of the three counts.
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