Prison cleaner in Ksh.257M ghost supplies case withdrew Ksh.133M in cash - Probe
Details have emerged of how a prison-cleaning
supervisor swindled the correctional services department of Ksh.257 million in
ghost supplies.
Between the years 2016 and 2018, Eric
Kipkirui Mutai is said to have used his seven companies that were incorporated
between 2013 and 2016 to make a lifetime of fortune.
The money was paid through the department's
account at the Central Bank, ending in several properties and cash withdrawals
by beneficiaries.
According to documents compiled by the Ethics
and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Mutai’s companies - which are sole
proprietorships - received between Ksh.10 million and Ksh.62 million each as
payments for food rations to seven prison facilities.
Some of the companies, however, have no
semblance of a food supply business; Hygienic Ventures, for instance, is
registered to trade in hair products and sanitary services.
Facton Logistics Enterprises, according to
EACC, is registered as a consultant for constitutional law, but they were paid
for fictitious food supplies.
Nairobi Remand facility in total was swindled
Ksh.61 million paid to the seven companies, each receiving between Ksh.3.2
million and Ksh.24 million.
Lang’ata Women Prison lost Ksh.53 million to
six companies, while Kamiti main prison lost Ksh.46 million to deliveries that
were never made.
Kamiti medium prison lost Ksh.27 million while
Nairobi West prison lost Ksh.39 million shillings to six of the companies.
EACC confirms that no goods were supplied and
that no records exist at the prison facilities that would show evidence of any
Local Purchasing Order (LPO), delivery notes, or even payment vouchers.
Instead, Mutai is said to have used falsified
documents to claim payment that was made through the State Department of
correctional services account at the Central Bank of Kenya.
EACC believes that Mutai colluded with some
of his colleagues to make the payouts possible.
Mutai and John Odipo have been picked out by
EACC as persons that collected the payment vouchers for the seven companies for
different transactions.
Moses Sirengo, a principal accountant, has
been named as a beneficiary of a house that cost Ksh.8.5 million from the
proceeds.
Out of the Ksh.257 million paid between 2016
and 2018, Ksh.133 million was withdrawn in cash from bank accounts and the rest
is reported to have been channeled towards different properties like land, cars, and houses.
EACC says the Director of Public Prosecutions
has recommended further investigations before preferring charges against
suspects.
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