Inside the Uasin Gishu scholarship saga where millions have been stolen, families left stranded

The Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust scholarship was established to see students secure scholarships in Canada and Finland, but even after interested parties paid the required amounts, most students have remained home and many have been deported, causing agitation among county folk.

Parents have demanded a refund from the county government and have expressed a lack of interest in the scholarship programme, which has already been exposed as a fraud.

A meeting was called between the affected families and the county government of Uasin Gishu, which was led by Governor Jonathan Bii, Deputy Governor John Barorot, and Senator Jackson Mandago.

The Monday meeting demonstrated the immense scarring and aching that the families had been subjected to, as many could not hold back their tears as they pleaded with the leaders to return their contributions.

It was at the meeting that a now-viral video of Mercy Tarus boldly confronting the county leadership on the matter emerged. 

Ms. Tarus questioned the leaders in the video, asking why they would allow such a deceptive plan to permeate the county assembly while remaining silent about it.

"Mr. Barorot do you know any anti-depressant off your mind, Mr. Mandago?" she posed. 

"Where is Barororot's child here? Where is Bii's child? Where is Mandago's? You are very mean with the truth, you keep lying, you smile at us with a very smooth tongue and a very soft face that looks very innocent but you keep on lying."

Another affected student said: "It is the money that our parents paid that we are running after. But just come and fight me, I am dead already it's only the face that I have."

A parent added: I feel pain, my child has even told me that I should not do a harambee for her again. I sold my land, I borrowed money from the bank..."

Kenyans have been outraged by the situation, with many demanding that the county leadership be held accountable for syphoning money from citizens by duping them.

The ambitious plan started in 2021

The Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust scholarship bank account was opened in March 2021, with three officials, Joseph Maritim, Joshua Lelei, and Meshack Rono, named as signatories.

The account is said to have received a total of Ksh.837,855,889 between May 2021 and December 2022 from over 200 students who travelled to Finland to pursue various courses at various universities and colleges.

The learning institutions were supposed to be paid from the Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust Scholarship bank account.

Out of Ksh.837M collected, records show that Tampere University received Ksh.113,750,634 while the rest received amounts as follows; JAMK University (Ksh.657,500), Northern Lights University (Ksh.5,023,480), Elimu University (Ksh.3,249,220).

LUT University also received (Ksh.6,552,000), SCI Stenberg (Ksh.7,570,500), Edu Excellence College (Ksh.145,816,300) and Eton College Vancouver (Ksh.2,196,000).

Between September 2021 and September 2022, the county government of Uasin Gishu sent 202 students for a scholarship programme in Helsinki, Finland.

Sixty-seven students were admitted to Laurea University of Applied Sciences to pursue degrees in nursing.

Twenty-five students were further admitted to Jyvaskylla University to pursue a degree in nursing, while 111 students are at Tampere University in Finland.

Their parents had contributed Ksh. 1.19 million in school fees to the fund before they left for Finland, which county MCAs later claimed was operating like a personal account.

Each parent also sent Ksh.100,000 for air tickets and Ksh.80,000 for three months' accommodation. A Ksh.30,000 insurance policy was also deposited into each student's account.

However, in March 2023, students were staring at deportation as some of the universities noted that they had not received fees for the second semester and the county could not remit any money as per their agreements.

The latter led to one of the universities terminating its cooperation agreement with Uasin Gishu and Elgeiyo Marakwet counties on the 1st of March due to unpaid tuition and accommodation fees. 

Documents obtained by Citizen Television detailed questionable withdrawals running into millions of shillings from the Trust Account.

Following an investigation, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) discovered that Meshack Rono, the county's Director for Education, allegedly withdrew Ksh.18,363,689, followed by Maritim, the county's Chief Officer Education, who allegedly withdrew Ksh.14,486,700, and Lelei, the Chief Officer, Vocational Training, withdrew Ksh. 5,683,400.

Genesis of the blame game

In early March 2023, Governor Bii suspended the senior county employees who allegedly pocketed funds, further saying that EACC would be probing them.

Consequently, he called off new applications in both Canada and Finland, maintaining that the county would only be dealing with the ongoing students.

Governor Bii later distanced himself from the squabble, throwing the blame on Senator Mandago and saying that he should come out and explain what happened.

Bii stated that his administration was only handling the issue for the sake of parents and students who may have paid money but did not continue their education abroad, and that no one should involve him in any emerging scam, and that those involved in swindling the scholarship funds should bear their cross.

Mandago refuted the allegations levelled against him in his rebuttal, urging Governor Bii to accept responsibility as the county's leader.

The Senator stated that he chose to remain silent when parents began complaining about the programme because he wanted the law to take its course, given that a petition was pending at the County Assembly, followed by EACC investigations.

Over 200 parents involved in the scholarship row then recorded their statements with Eldoret DCI on July 18.

Meanwhile, the EACC has announced that its investigation into the scandal is nearing completion and that the file will be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further action.