Government Officials Sent on Compulsory Leave Over NYS Scandal

All National Youth Service (NYS) officers working in the procurement, finance and accounting departments have been sent on compulsory leave.

In a letter to newsrooms on Sunday, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Margaret Kobia maintained that the officials were sent on leave to pave way for investigators looking into the missing Ksh9 billion.

The move by CS Kobia comes days after State House announced the suspension of Youth Principal Secretary Lilian Mbogo-Omollo and NYS Director General Richard Ndubai.

In what amounted to calling for more heads to roll, President Uhuru Kenyatta asked those who may have been part of the Ksh9 billion scandal to follow suit and step aside.

[caption caption="President Uhuru with NYS recruits"][/caption]

“The President also expects any public official directly implicated in the investigations to uphold the code of integrity and ethics to which they are committed and to act accordingly,” a statement from State House read in part.

Notably, the presidential statement further warned of dire consequences for anyone implicated in the ongoing investigations.

“The President has every confidence in the work of the investigative agencies, and in the event, any wrongdoing is established, he has directed that swift prosecution should follow,” the statement remarked.

NYS is reported to be close to the President’s heart because his legacy leans more towards the youth empowerment agency, which recently stepped up to help with the chaotic public transport sector. 

This is the second time the NYS has shot to the limelight over money plunder after the previous one cost then Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru and former Devolution Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti among other top officials their jobs.

[caption caption="NYS recruits"][/caption]

It, however, remains not clear how much money was actually stolen with allegations that the theft, executed with the help of banks, could be more than Ksh1.2 billion in fictitious supplies. 
 

 

 

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