Former Kemri boss Davy Koech jailed for corruption pardoned by Ruto

Davy Koech, a former executive director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), was one of 37 persons pardoned by President William Ruto on the advice of the Committee on the power of mercy. Koech was sentenced to prison in 2021.
When he was the institution’s director in 2006, Dr. Koech obtained Ksh19.3 million through corruption and was given a six-year prison sentence.
When Justice Esther Maina denied the 72-year-old’s request for a review of the judgment last year, his attempt to do so was unsuccessful.
The names of 37 prisoners who were pardoned by President Ruto on the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy were released by Attorney General Justin Muturi in a notice in the Kenyan gazette dated July 21.
“It is notified for the general information of the public that in the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 133 of the Kenyan Constitution 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 notice read.
In a letter to the President in September of last year, Dr. Koech begged for forgiveness. The former Kemri boss insisted that even though he had paid the Ksh21.2 million back, “I was still jailed.”
“Sir, my health has gotten worse since I turned 71 and while I’ve been in prison. I have hypertension and I had a serious stroke. My medical professionals have ruled that I am unable to advise my attorney or stand another trial. In a similar vein, I’ve experienced sadness, and I currently stutter when I speak and have impaired cognition,” the letter stated.
Dr. Koech, one of the longest-serving CEOs of a state firm, said in the letter that he helped Kemri secure grants and cash totaling more than Ksh10 billion for research.
“Your Excellency, I sincerely apologize. Having litigated for more than 15 years and expended a significant amount of time and money, I’ve been punished enough,” he claimed in the letter.
In September 2021, Trial Magistrate Victor Wakumile found him guilty on three counts relating to the fraudulent acquisition of public property. He was sentenced to pay a Ksh19.6 million fine or serve six years in prison.
On August 17, 2006, in Nairobi, he had been accused of acquiring Kemri’s property through fraud for Ksh800,000.
According to the second and third allegations, he unlawfully obtained Ksh6 million and a further Ksh12.5 million from the research institution on December 12, 2006.
He was charged with further counts that claimed he had used his position to improperly transfer funds from the Vector Biological and Control Research (VBCR) account to himself.
When he was the Managing Director, he was accused of moving Ksh19.3 million from the organization’s bank accounts to his own. The Center for Disease Control in Kisumu received the cash.
Judge Maina denied a request for review, explaining that Prof. Koech was asking the court to overturn his conviction because the State had promised not to pursue him provided he paid the money.
According to Section 56(b) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, the lower court had ordered that an undertaking be made in writing. “I searched through the records, but I couldn’t discover anything that would have allowed this court to declare the trial court’s proceedings to be void.”
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