Londiani victims’ cash: DCI probes alleged embezzlement as Governor Mutai dismisses claims

The controversy over the alleged misappropriation of monies meant for Londiani crash victims continues to deepen with two separate committees formed by Kericho County government to probe the claims.

This is besides additional investigations being carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) which has already recorded statements from the victims' families.

Kericho Deputy Governor Fred Kirui and a section of other county leaders have called for investigations into the alleged misuse of the Ksh.13.6 million collected during a fundraising presided over by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

The county Governor Dr. Eric Mutai however insists that the embezzlement claims are unfounded as the process of paying the money to the families of those affected is still underway.

“The committee confirms to me that they have been progressively giving out money and they have been giving out money to the victims and even the families are still being identified,” Mutai said during a press address on Thursday.

He likewise maintained that while the victims’ hospital bills were waived, the county had to cater for costs of specialised treatment that some of the crash victims were subjected to.

“We have patients in hospital and you know, normally, you pay for the doctor, you pay for the beds, and we have continued to say and I will say here today, that medical bills will still be met by the county government of Kericho. For those that were in the mortuary we waived morgue fees to zero,” added the Governor.

The County Assembly of Kericho has formed a nine-member Ad-hoc committee to probe the allegations.

The Governor has also formed another committee which is expected to give a report on the said allegations in the next 7 days.

“This committee will find the real facts on how much was collected, how many families were affected, how many people died, how many are still in hospital and what was the total cost of treatment in different facilities,” said Kericho County Assembly Majority Leader Philip Rono.

Documents signed by Kericho County Secretary Wesley Bor and seen by Citizen Digital show that Kericho and Londiani hospitals received a total of Ksh.3.5 million; Ksh.2.9 million went into paying for tents and seats hired during the fundraiser; Ksh.423,000 went to transport; while bereaved families were given Ksh.90,000 each.

Families of those injured meanwhile received Ksh.60,000 each, bringing the total amount given to the families to Ksh.5.2 million, which has caused an uproar from the Deputy Governor.

Fifty-three people perished in the June 30 accident after the driver of a Kericho-bound truck lost control, running over pedestrians, business people and matatus which were parked by the Nakuru-Kericho highway.