A Sh800,000 bribe for a job that never was — backed by M-Pesa money trail — is at the heart of allegations that could sink Kisii Deputy Governor Robert Monda, less than two years into office.
Senators will today decide the fate of the besieged DG at the end of a two-day impeachment trial.
In an emotional impeachment hearing on Wednesday punctuated with tears, the witness-in-chief, Mr Dennis Mokaya, narrated how together with his father Joseph Misati, they met Dr Monda at his residence in Keumbu where an agreement was struck that they part with Sh800,000 in exchange for the vacant Gusii Water and Sanitation Company (Gwasco) commercial manager position.
Dennis Mokaya testifies before the Senate during the impeachment hearing of Kisii Deputy Governor Robert Monda on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
At the Sunday, May 28, 2023, meeting, said Mr Mokaya, Sh500,000 was sent to the former Nyaribari Chache MP in tranches and the balance of Sh300,000 was to be delivered at the DG’s office at Gusii Stadium.
The transactions trail consisted of bank and M-Pesa exchanges to the tune of Sh500,000, with both Mr Mokaya and Mr Misati as the senders.
“After leaving his residence, we had given him a sum of Sh500,000. We were to give him the remainder of Sh300,000 at his office the following day,” said Mr Mokaya.
The witness-in-chief denied the DG’s defence that the transaction was payment for a Sh600,000 debt his father owed Dr Monda, saying he had to sell whatever he owned in Nairobi to raise the money he sent to his father.
“If indeed he (his father) was settling a debt, then he would have done the whole transaction at a go,” Mr Mokaya said.
“If my dad chooses friendship over the truth, then so be it…. I don’t have anything against my parents but the fact is this was our lifetime savings built over 13 years and this was our opportunity to get something to support my family but we lost everything,” said the witness as he broke down in tears.
Missing out on the position
Mr Mokaya said he is yet to get back his money even after missing out on the position, noting that he had raised the issue with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Laced with Biblical analogies, the assembly’s legal team, led by lawyers Ndegwa Njiru and Elias Mutuma, used every allocated minute to try to convince senators why they should send Dr Monda home.
They detailed how Dr Monda allegedly solicited and received a Sh800,000 bribe from the family of the witness-in-chief to influence the award of an employment contract at Gwasco.
This is after claims that the DG had alerted Mr Misati that he could secure his son a job, upon paying the bribe.
Kisii Deputy Governor Robert Monda before the Senate for his impeachment hearing on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
Adducing its evidence, the county assembly said Dr Monda received the money through M-Pesa in three tranches of Sh249,000 on May 28, 2023, another Sh260,000 while the last tranche was delivered in cash at his office in Gusii Stadium.
Thereafter, the DG sent Sh100,000 to Gwasco Managing Director Lucy Wahito in order to influence her to employ Mr Mokaya, a request which was not acceded to and the money returned.
“Despite the huge payment made, Mr Dennis Mokaya and his family never secured the job,” said Mr Njiru.
The assembly also accused Dr Monda of continuously diverting county enforcement officers from their course of duty to work on his farm.
Further, he is alleged to have intimidated, arrested and detained his brother, Reuben Monda, using 20 county officers to cut down trees in their family land.
DG Monda was last month impeached by the Kisii County Assembly after 53 MCAs voted to remove him from office by way of impeachment on four grounds: gross violation of the Constitution, abuse of office, gross misconduct and crimes under national law.
Lawyer Njiru argued that the DG’s conduct is against Chapter Six of the Constitution. “Evidence will prove that this is a man who does not deserve the mercy of this House,” said Mr Njiru.
Lawyer Mutuma added: “The case is simple. It is a cry by the most vulnerable members of the society who have suffered at the hands of their leaders, exploited by those they put in office.”
During cross-examination, lawyer Katwa Kigen poked holes into the allegations, saying the Sh800,000 was a refund of money lent to Mr Mokaya’s father.
He said the Sh100,000 was not meant for Ms Wahito but a Ms Gladys Aming’a for transport service, saying the transaction was a mistake.
Mr Kigen pressed Mr Mokaya to prove that indeed the money sent to Dr Monda was a bribe and if so, then he should be in jail for committing a crime.
“The deputy governor is a man of integrity, a Christian and a man of conscience,” said Mr Kigen.
Lawyer Wilkins Ochoki, also representing DG Monda, added: “What is before this House is not a motion that meets the threshold that will send the deputy governor home.”
Earlier, South Mugirango MP Sylvanus Osoro was barred from representing the DG as one of his lawyers following opposition by some senators.
However, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi allowed acting Kisii Enforcement and Compliance Director David Oyagi to appear and give evidence before the Senate to corroborate allegations of misuse of county resources by the deputy governor.
