Queries over handling of NYS graft probe
Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru addresses a news conference at Harambee House on September 11, 2015. National Youth Service workers on September 14, 2015 demonstrated in Nairobi, protesting against the Devolution ministry’s failure to pay them on time. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The CS pulled a surprise when she admitted that the government lost Sh791 million through fraudulent deals, allegedly involving 21 officials whom she said the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has recommended should be prosecuted.
- Notably absent when Ms Waiguru made the announcement on Friday afternoon were officials from the DCI, NYS or DPP’s office, raising questions on the credibility of the whole process.
Questions have been raised over the manner in which corruption investigations in the Devolution Ministry are being handled.
This is after the Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru released names of alleged perpetrators of corruption at the National Youth Service (NYS) instead of the list coming from the National Police Service or the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions.
The CS pulled a surprise when she admitted that the government lost Sh791 million through fraudulent deals, allegedly involving 21 officials whom she said the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has recommended should be prosecuted.
Notably absent when Ms Waiguru made the announcement on Friday afternoon were officials from the DCI, NYS or DPP’s office, raising questions on the credibility of the whole process. Instead, it was a Devolution Ministry affair yet the fraudulent transactions took place at one of its institutions.
Furthermore, being a high profile corruption case in which the DPP and the DCI have been involved, it was expected that they would be present or send representatives.
Yesterday, DPP Keriako Tobiko did not confirm whether he has indeed received the file as claimed by Ms Waiguru, raising further questions. Numerous calls and messages to his phone by the Sunday Nation were not responded to.
DCI Director Ndegwa Muhoro, too, could not be reached for comment.
In a further twist, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which usually investigates such cases, yesterday distanced itself from the matter despite an announcement it made in June that it was investigating alleged irregularities in the procurement of consultancy services for the database used by the government’s IFMIS payment system.
“We cannot involve ourselves in the matter since it is being handled by other investigating agencies. If the DPP’s office asks us to investigate then we will, but that has not been the case so far,” EACC’s deputy CEO Michael Mubea said.
It is not clear why EACC, which is tasked with handling corruption cases involving government officials, was not involved in this issue or whether there was a deliberate move to keep it out.
Some 18 officials from NYS and four from the Ministry of Devolution have been suspended.
Among those suspended and recommended for prosecution is NYS Senior Deputy Director Adan Harakhe, whose controversial appointment by Ms Waiguru to the NYS in November last year is said to have created a rift between the CS and NYS Director-General Nelson Githinji.
SAVE MILLIONS
The government has all along been denying that money was lost in the scandal, insisting that Ms Waiguru discovered the fraud process on time and saved the country millions of shillings.
When the matter first came to light in June, Jubilee allied politicians vilified the Opposition for spreading propaganda aimed at discrediting the NYS programmes, which were transforming informal settlements.
State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu also waded into the saga in defence of the CS, saying her woes at that time were politically motivated since no money was lost.
Among the companies alleged to have received fraudulent payments are Form and Homes Builders, Draco Capital, Roof and All Trading, Reinforced Concrete Technologies, Grumum Engineering and Tegmen Trading.
Ms Waiguru’s admission that there was a plan to steal millions of shillings is also raising questions on the extent of the loss.
“There was a conspiracy to defraud NYS of Sh695 million in respect of the committed disputed transactions. The investigations also identified fraudulent payments worth Sh791 million that had been made between December 2014 and April 2015,” she said.
This week, the government made another surprise decision to halt NYS projects in some areas, raising fears that it could slowly be pulling out of some regions. The news was delivered on Friday afternoon after Ms Waiguru’s press conference.
This is despite a recent assurance by President Uhuru Kenyatta, while on a tour in Kisumu, that the NYS project, which has since expanded nationally, would be extended for another one year.
Youth working in Kisumu, Kibera and Mathare have been told that they will not be working for some time for various reasons.
But Devolution Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti maintains that the breaks are normal and works will resume as scheduled.
