Lugari MP Ayub Savula was arrested by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers over alleged corruption linked to Government Advertising Agency.
Reports indicated that Savula was arrested on Friday night and held at the DCI Headquarters in Kiambu County waiting to be arraigned in court on Monday.
According to DCI, the MP was arrested for conspiring to steal millions of shillings from the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology.
A statement from DCI read: “Lugari Member of Parliament, the Honorable Ayub Savula Angatia, has been arrested this evening by DCI Detectives for conspiring to steal Ksh.122, 335, 500 from the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology.”
It is alleged that the Government Advertising Agency (GAA, which handles all advertising from government ministries and departments in both electronic and print media, paid over Ksh2.5 Billion to 99 ghost companies.
A report in the Daily Nation on September 11, 2018, revealed that police had unearthed “NYS-style fraud” at the ad agency.
The Government Advertisement Agency was created three years ago through a directive of Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich where he ordered that all State corporations, universities and other institutions under the national government put their advertisements through the Information Ministry.
According to reports, the move saw media revenues fall greatly as some claimed that the GAA had failed to honour contracts.
DCI instituted a probe into the alleged irregular procurement of Media Services by the GAA after a request from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet.
“The Director of Criminal Investigations has noted instructions by the Director of Public Prosecutions to inquire into ICT ministry procurement of services from Media that has led to allegations of failure to honour contracts. Investigations have been instituted,” DCI George Kinoti stated.
