Former Nyandarua Chief Finance Officer, Michael Kamau Kuria, his mother, wife and friend have sought bail after they denied 58 charges following a Ksh116 million tax evasion.
The court had ordered the freezing of assets linked to the Chief Finance Officer, which led to the revelation of how allegedly Kuria used his mother and wife to drain the county accounts for personal gain.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi had made a ruling following a request by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) who believed that the money had been siphoned from the county coffers.
“The four are prohibited whether by themselves or through persons acting on their behalf from disposing of the listed properties, dealing with the motor vehicles or transferring the money in the accounts for a period of six months,” Justice Ngugi ruled.
The commission claimed that Kuria had stolen Ksh115 million and amassed property worth an estimated Ksh181 million in just under three years.
“Our investigations have revealed that Kuria and his associates received the money from Nyandarua County Government through fraud and bribery. He tried to conceal his acts by acquiring properties spread across the country,” EACC lawyer Pius Wanyoike had stated.
The prosecution argued that it was virtually impossible for the former CFO to be able to acquire assets worth the quoted figure between January 2014 and December 2017 based on his salary.
Reports from EACC investigations revealed that Kuria conspired with his mother and wife to set up proxy companies as soon as he assumed office, which they then used to award themselves lucrative tenders.
“The companies were awarded various contracts by the Nyandarua County Government in a manner not consistent with procurement rules, a clear conflict of interest, abuse of office, bribery, and corruption,” stated Abel Maravu – the lead EACC investigator attached to the case.
