Testifying before Nakuru Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege last Friday, victims of the failed scholarship programme claimed that Governor Bii embraced the project months before it fell apart, only to shift blame to his predecessor, now Senator Jackson Mandago, once issues began to emerge.
Among the key witnesses was Ms Mitchelle Jeptanui, one of the programme's victims who told the court that Governor Bii convened a meeting in June 2023 to reassure parents that their children would still travel abroad and that their money was safe.
According to Ms Jeptanui, the meeting came after parents raised concerns about delays in travel despite their children having received admission letters to Canadian and Finnish universities. During the meeting, Mr Bii allegedly asked parents to pay an additional Sh200,000 to Sh300,000 for accommodation.
But even after making the additional payments, no students travelled abroad. When the parents followed up again two months later, Governor Bii reportedly distanced himself from the programme instead pointing fingers at Senator Mandago.
“Governor Bii called another meeting and invited Senator Mandago. He told us he didn’t understand the programme well and asked the senator to explain what had happened to our money,” Ms Jeptanui said.
She testified that she paid Sh10,000 for registration on July 28, 2022, followed by Sh650,000 for fees in October and an additional Sh122,000 in November for visa, medical and insurance. In 2023, she deposited Sh300,000 for accommodation into the programme's trust fund.
She added that Me Mandago assured the parents their money would be refunded. But during cross-examination by defence lawyers Fidel Limo, Stephen Kibungei and Elijah Kibet, she admitted she was not sure if her father had been refunded Sh548,000.
Seven of the eight witnesses who testified on Friday confirmed they made payments after Governor Bii had already taken office, suggesting that the programme continued under his watch despite his later disavowal.
Ms Jeptanui’s account was corroborated by Ms Irene Chepchirchir and Mr Joseph Kiplimo, both of whom paid more than Sh3 million combined. Mr Kiplimo told the court he overpaid by Sh20,000 in hopes of speeding up his son’s admission to Laurea University in Finland, paying a total of Sh1.2 million instead of the stipulated Sh1.18 million.
Earlier, another parent, Mr Benjamin Kibet, shared how his desire to secure a better future for his son left him deep in debt. He testified that he took out a Sh650,000 loan to pay for his son Allan Kimutai's education at Stenberg College in Canada.
Mr Kibet said he first learned of the programme from Senator Mandago, then Governor Bii at a funeral, where the senator encouraged him to enroll his son. He was later referred to Mr Joshua Lelei, one of the programme’s coordinators, who guided him through the application.
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago at the Nakuru Law Courts on September 11, 2024.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
However, the programme ran into trouble and his son never travelled abroad. Mr Kibet said he sought a refund and continues to hope that the senator will either return the money or facilitate his son’s travel.
“If Mr Mandago agrees to pay what he owes us, I will be satisfied. I know him and I know he meant well with the programme,” said Mr Kibet.
During cross-examination, he admitted he made his payment after the former governor had already left office, placing further scrutiny on the role of the current administration.
In the ongoing case, Senator Mandago is charged alongside two former county officials—Meshack Rono and Joshua Lelei—with misappropriating Sh1.1 billion allocated for the overseas education programme.
So far, 90 of the 202 witnesses lined up by the prosecution have testified.
Another witness Ms Asenath Okello, recalled attending a joint meeting convened by Senator Mandago and Governor Bii during which Mr Mandago offered to sell personal land to compensate victims.
“The senator told us we would be refunded and even said he would sell his land if necessary,” she testified.
Ms Okello paid her first instalment of Sh650,000 on November 1, 2022, after receiving a university admission offer on October 28. She later deposited another Sh122,000 in January 2023. By July, when the programme was clearly failing, she wrote to the county requesting a refund.
Despite mounting evidence that the programme continued into Governor Bii’s tenure and that additional payments were made under his watch, he has maintained that the initiative was conceived and mismanaged entirely under his predecessor’s administration.
