Uasin Gishu senator Jackson Mandago has been arrested in connection to the Sh1.1 billion Finland Scholarship Programme scandal.
Mandago was arrested in Eldoret and thereafter taken to Nakuru for questioning.
The senator had earlier refuted reports of a warrant of arrest issued against him by police, adding that he was not in hiding.
“There are rumors all over Eldoret Town that DCI Officers have been looking for me the whole night. As a law-abiding citizen, I am available once summoned,” he stated.
Earlier, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had ordered the Senator and three other top county officials for prosecution over the county’s scholarship scam.
They are accused of conspiring to steal Sh1 billion from an account domiciled at the Kenya Commercial Bank in Eldoret registered under the Uasin Gishu Education Trust Fund meant for overseas university fees for students under Uasin Gishu County Overseas Education Programmes.
The other officials Joseph Kipkemoi Maritim, Meshak Rono and Joshua Kipkemoi Lelei are still at large.
Mandago’s arrest comes in the wake of President William Ruto’s public ridicule directed toward those linked to the scandal.
The head of state has directed salvos at the culprits calling on them to pay back the money or face the consequences.
“If there is anyone who embezzled those funds, let him prepare to face the music. They must return the money. They will not get away,” said the head of state.
Mandago served as the first governor of Uasin Gishu county where he saw the rolling of the first face of the Finland scholarships.
