A court has ordered former officials of the Homa Bay County Assembly and an ex-bank manager to repay Sh47,075,000 million they illegally paid themselves.
Justice Esther Maina of the High Court’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, in a ruling made on December 7, said she is satisfied that the accused acquired the money from the Homa Bay County Assembly account.
The judge ordered them to pay back the entire amount together with interest at a court rate of 12 per cent from the date of the loss. Justice Maina said the payment from the Homa Bay County Assembly account to the group for services not rendered was unlawful, fraudulent and illegal.
The court ruled in favour of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which filed a civil suit against former Homa Bay County Assembly clerk Bob Kephas Otieno, his wife Everlyne Owino Ogutu and former Homa Bay Equity Bank branch manager David Obonyo.
Others are former Homa Bay County Assembly principal finance officer Caroline Chepkemoi Sang, former senior accounts controller Maurice Odiwuor Amek and Lilian Achieng.
Mr Obonyo and Ms Achieng were sued as joint business partners trading as Damila Enterprises Ltd. Mr Obonyo was the sole signatory to the firm which was used in the deal.
The EACC moved to the Milimani High Court after the six failed to comply with an earlier court order directing them to surrender the money to the anti-graft agency.
In June last year, a court in Homa Bay had found the six guilty of siphoning the money from the Homa Bay County Assembly bank accounts.
Investigations by the anti-corruption agency established that Mr Otieno pocketed Sh24 million, his wife got Sh1.7 million and Ms Sang received S 3.95 million.
The EACC found that Mr Amek received Sh5 million, with Damila Enterprises Ltd (a business partnership jointly owned by Mr Obonyo and Ms Achieng) getting Sh12.225 million.
Mr Otieno and Ms Sang were found to have made unlawful expenditures by raising invalid approval forms for services that were not rendered. They were also accused of failing to ensure proper management and control as well as accounting for the finances of the assembly.
The anti-graft agency said Mr Otieno failed to take proper measures, including storage of irregular payments as provided in the Public Finance Management Act no 18 of 2012.
Mr Obonyo is said to have received money with knowledge that he had not rendered any services to the county assembly and so he was not legally entitled to the cash.
The EACC, through its lawyer Olgar Ochola, informed the court that Mr Otieno was the accounting officer at the Homa Bay County Assembly and was, therefore, supposed to ensure that the resources were used in a lawful, authorised, effective, efficient, economical and transparent manner.
But he failed to protect public funds contrary to sections 196(7) and 198(1) of the Public Finance Management Act No. 18 of 2012.
The EACC said that the former clerk fraudulently and illegally paid his wife Ms Ogutu and Mr Obonyo money from the county assembly for no services.
The court also established that the former clerk, his wife and associates fraudulently acquired public property by receiving payments for services not rendered contrary to section 45(1)(a) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003;
Mr Otieno was also found to have unlawfully used his office to improperly confer a benefit to himself and others contrary to section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003.
