Senator Jackson Mandago records statement with DCI on Uasin Gishu scholarship fiasco

Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago on Thursday recorded a statement with detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) probing the North Rift county’s heavily controversial scholarship scam.

The collapsed Finland and Canada scholarship programme has occasioned uproar and massive protests in Uasin Gishu, with the hundreds of graduates affected and their parents taking to the streets to demand for refunds from the county government.

“I have today recorded my statement at the DCI (Kiambu Road) on the Finland and Canada overseas education program,” Mandago wrote on Twitter.

The DCI statement comes after Mandago was on Tuesday last week also grilled by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for his role in the programme, which was initiated during his tenure as Governor.

The Uasin Gishu Education Trust Fund account is said to have been opened in May 2021, and by December 2022, Ksh.957,167,143 had been credited to the account by parents.

A total of Ksh.257,326,740 was debited from the account to beneficiaries to facilitate them to Finland and Canada for the programmes.

The anti-graft watchdog is focusing its probe on Ksh.57,538,429 withdrawn locally by Uasin Gishu County officials appointed to manage the fund.

Parents and victims of the Finland/Canada scholarship fiasco on Wednesday held demonstrations in Eldoret, marching to the town’s EACC offices to deliver their petition.

The agitated parents and students called for President William Ruto to intervene on the misappropriation of funds that has left them devastated. 

They reiterated that the planned devolution conference which is scheduled to kick off next week in Eldoret will not go on until they get their money back.

A series of meetings have since been held between the affected families and the county government of Uasin Gishu, led by Governor Jonathan Bii, Deputy Governor John Barorot, and Senator Mandago.