NYS scandal: Prosecutors want maximum penalties as hearing starts

Prosecution lawyers have vowed to seek maximum penalties and confiscate assets of those implicated in the NYS corruption scandal as the hearing of the case kicked off on Monday.

In the hearing, which was before Nairobi magistrate Peter Ooko, the prosecution, while giving its opening remarks said that the suspects also never paid taxes and therefore affected mobilisation of resources.

Prosecution lawyer Vera Khamisi said the case is against obscure but ruthless fly-by-night briefcase companies/business entities which swooped away a Ksh.60,598,800.

Khamisi said the Ksh.60 million is just a tip of the Ksh.8 billion which was siphoned from the National Youth Service coffers for goods not delivered with the assistance of the accused persons who were public officers in the State Department of Public Service and Youth.

Similarly, the court was told that the fraud was well orchestrated and meticulously planned by former senior and junior employees of the NYS, the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs as well as unscrupulous characters fronting as genuine entrepreneurs who allegedly supplied goods to the NYS with the sole aim of embezzling millions of shillings out of NYS.

“The fraud was conceived that this money be paid out and all the accused persons were to be enablers of the payments hence the conspiracy to defraud,” court was told.

The court was told that the prosecution will produce primary evidence, expert witnesses, graphs, electronic evidence gathered from suspects turned state witnesses.

“We shall endeavor to demonstrate that in this case the circulars used were forged, genuine contractors numbers were forged and illegally used to pay non-existent supplies,” prosecution said.

On their part the 33 accused persons argued that the charges against them are malicious and were taken to court as a result of bowing to public pressure.

Through their lawyers, the 33, among them former NYS Director General Richard Ndubai and PS Lilian Omolo, submitted that the companies which supplied goods to NYS are licensed and registered.

“They are not briefcase companies, the charges are generic, speculative and intended to embarrass the accused persons,” said the accused.