Samuel Wachenje and Hendrick Nyongesa Pilisi, former employees of the National Youth Service (NYS), have been convicted of multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy as part of a sprawling corruption investigation that has continued to expose the widespread corruption within government institutions and offices in the country.
The two were found guilty of forgery and financial fraud in a sweeping scheme that saw the youth organisation lose Ksh791 million meant for a road construction project at an NYS facility in Kibera in 2015, according to a criminal court docket.
While delivering the verdict, Lady Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni of the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi stated that the prosecution had sufficiently proven that between December 1, 2014, and June 5, 2015, at the NYS headquarters, Mr Wachenje and Mr Nyongesa breached trust by authorising payments without proper oversight, resulting in the loss of Ksh791 million in public funds.
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“The two accused breached trust by approving payments without the necessary Ministerial Tender Committee approval,” High Court Judge Michieni ruled.
According to state prosecutors led by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga, who presented 41 witnesses—including former NYS Senior Deputy Director-General Adan Harakhe and Nixon Oborah, the acting Chief Finance Officer at the State Department for Planning in the Ministry of Devolution and Planning—Mr Wachenje, who served as Director of Finance, and Mr Nyongesa, then the Principal Supply Chain Management Officer, collaborated between December 2014 and April 1, 2015, to steal a total of Ksh791,385,000. They did this by fraudulently adding zeros to amounts across 25 transactions in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and producing multiple copies of Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) attached to payment vouchers related to the road contract for procurement of construction materials.
Court documents revealed that the funds were transferred from the National Treasury to three firms owned by Josephine Kabura Irungu, supposedly the contractor, who has a similar ongoing case in court. Her companies, Reinforced Concrete Technologies, received Ksh320,160,000, Form Homes Builders got Ksh218,925,000, and Roof and All Trading obtained Ksh252,300,000.
The court also heard from the prosecution that the actual value of materials used for the road project to conceal the scheme was Ksh78,857,835, not Ksh791,385,000 as recorded in the official tender papers.
“The total cost was Ksh78,857,835. This indicates a discrepancy of Ksh712,527,165 between the amount paid and the actual cost of materials, nearly matching the additional Ksh712,246,500 created by adding zeros,” revealed a report by road experts.
Further testimonies from Family Bank officials Solomon Ithamba and David Mwangi Munyori confirmed that some Ksh77,000,000 of the stolen funds were transferred from the Form Homes Builders account to another bank account linked to the accused individuals.
On his part, Mr Harakhe informed the trial court that the transactions were “marred by serious and repeated errors,” especially as the Ministerial Tender Committee’s approval was absent from the process.
Together, the counts carry an imprisonment term of not less than five years and not more than ten years. Mr Wachenje and Mr Nyongesa are expected to appeal. They are scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, 2024.
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