Five former high-ranking officials of the Nyandarua County government have been arrested for orchestrating fraudulent payments amounting to Ksh. 13 million. The payments were falsely allocated to six contractors who allegedly provided services to the devolved unit.
The arrested suspects include Vincent Muiruri Wambui (Supply Chain Management Officer), Sophia Wairimu Karanja (Assistant Supply Chain Officer), Shadrack Kanyungo Ndirangu (Weight and Measures Officer), and Timothy Ngunjiri Kiragu (IFMIS Accountant).
They were taken into custody on Wednesday by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for fabricating documents to disburse funds supposedly designated for a County Investment Conference.
“The suspects, who were contemporaneously arrested in Nyandarua, Nairobi, and Naivasha, are currently held at EACC Nakuru Regional Offices and will later be detained at Nakuru Central Police Station pending arraignment before Nakuru Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday, February 1, 2024,” said a source at EACC.
Two other suspects, Daniel Kamua Muguko (Chief Officer Trade) and Regina Wairimu Wacira (Chief Co-op Auditor), are still at large and have been instructed to surrender themselves to EACC’s Nyeri office.
EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi confirmed the incident, stating that investigations into the fraud scheme began in 2018 following complaints received by the anti-graft agency.
“The Commission established that money was paid to the following Six (6) companies; Grey Apple Company (Ksh.2,693,103.45), Smart People Africa (Ksh.2,216,917.25), Hams Camera Services (Ksh.1,887,292.75), Enrich Associates Limited (Ksh.1,223,427.60), Sun Link Engineering (Ksh.1,755,518.45), and Steady Link Solutions (Ksh.2,539,947.40),” Ngumbi reported.
After completing the investigations, EACC recommended that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) file charges against the eight suspects. They will face charges of conspiring and committing economic crimes, engaging in fraud, and willfully failing to comply with applicable procedures and guidelines related to incurring expenditures.
