A former staffer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution has taken over the legal team representing Embakasi North MP James Gakuya in his Sh40 million graft case.
Lawyer Danstan Omari told the trial court on Tuesday that Jemimah Aluda will be the new lead counsel in the case.
Gakuya was charged in 2018 alongside four other suspects with several counts of fraud in relation to the misappropriation Sh40 million CDF cash.
Other suspects in the matter are Cleophas Omariba Oyaro (district accountant), Leah Waithera Guchu (fund account manager) and CDF chairman Richard Mwangi Chuchu.
Aluda confirmed to trial magistrate Elizabeth Juma that she will be the lead counsel in the matter. She will be working with Omari, Wandugi Kiraithe, Duncan Okatch, Shadrack Wambui among others.
The case was supposed to proceed for hearing on Tuesday but was adjourned.
The prosecution are expected to produce three witnesses on Wednesday who will testify against Gakuya and his co-accused.
Gakuya and the CDF officials are facing charges of fraudulent acquisition of public property, conflict of interest, conspiracy to defraud and wilful failure to adhere to procurement and disposal laws.
The prosecution claimed that investigations by EACC established that companies associated with Gakuya were irregularly awarded tenders worth Sh40 million and paid through bank accounts to which the MP was a signatory.