Prosecution looms for Treasury officials in Sh1.5bn embezzlement case

By  Kevin Cheruiyot

Correspondent

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved charges against nine National Treasury officials and business people over the alleged embezzlement of Sh1.5 billion from a government programme intended to help small scale farmers access affordable financing.

The suspects face charges including abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, financial misconduct, acquisition of proceeds of crime and money laundering following investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

In a statement on DPP said it had received an inquiry file from the EACC concerning allegations of embezzlement of public funds by officials involved in coordinating the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovation and Technologies (PROFIT).

“Upon an independent and thorough review of the inquiry file, the DPP established that there is sufficient evidence to charge the suspects for offences including abuse of office, unlawful acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, financial misconduct, acquisition of proceeds of crime and money laundering,” the DPP said.

The nine suspects are Programme Coordinator John Ngure Kabutha,Namwel Moturi Motanya, head of the Accounting Unit at the National Treasury and senior accountant John Maina Muriithi.

The others are Gladys Juliet Oroni, proprietor of Mawindo Enterprises, Brigs Agencies and Green Basil Agencies; Brian Kiprop Chepkarat, proprietor of El Konyinta Technologies; Ian Kwemoi Chepkarat, director of 020 Investments Limited and Vidi Vici Limited; Josephat Kamau Kamoshe, director of Blue Dart Agencies Limited; James Omwodo Ndai, proprietor of Ednas Agencies, Prozepp Technologies and Steeren Enterprises; and Jimmy Carter Odoyo Osodo, proprietor of Cadnic Investments.

The DPP has directed that all nine suspects, together with the implicated companies and businesses, be charged before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The prosecution agency said it was committed to upholding the rule of law, safeguarding public resources, promoting integrity in public finance management and ensuring accountability where criminal conduct is established through investigations.

The EACC said the nine suspects were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the alleged fraudulent disbursement of funds from the National Treasury Development Account to the PROFIT Programme.

The funds were subsequently channelled to 23 private entities, 15 business names and eight companies for goods and services that investigators established were never supplied or rendered, according to the anti-corruption agency.

The PROFIT Programme, which was intended to facilitate small-scale farmers’ access to affordable financing, was implemented between the 2013/14 and 2023/24 financial years.

EACC said its investigations established that programme officials used false and forged documents to account for the funds. They also allegedly opened an unauthorised KCB Bank account in the name of the PROFIT Programme through which Sh175 million was received, laundered and embezzled, with a substantial portion of the money withdrawn in cash.

“Investigators also established financial links between programme officials and some of the private entities that received the funds, in apparent contravention of public financial management and accountability requirements,” EACC said.

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