Revealed: Mystery of Ksh8 Million Govt Car That Vanished Into Thin Air

University Education Principal Secretary (PS) Ambassador Simon Nabukwesi has faulted Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officers over a stolen government vehicle. The new car disappeared on Thursday, August 22 2019, just a few days after its purchase.

The incident occurred in Nairobi’s Buru Buru estate at 8:00 pm. The driver, Vincent Mukobe, was relieved of his duties immediately after which an investigation kicked off.

The vehicle is a metallic silver Toyota Fortuner valued at Ksh8.4 million shillings. The Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) registration number was GKB 193V. It belonged to the State Department for University Education. At the time of its disappearance, it was assigned to the ACE 2 project in Naivasha under the Director of University Education.

Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Ambassador Simon Nabukwesi

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The Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE II) project was meant to strengthen selected centres to deliver quality, market-relevant postgraduate education. It was also meant to support collaborative research capacity in five regional priority areas namely industry, agriculture, health, education and applied statistics.

Nabukwesi appeared before the Public Accounts Committee chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi to answer for the flagged loss. The committee was informed of this by a report from Auditor-General, Nancy Gathungu.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu at a public event in Nairobi in 2019

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Nabukwesi censured DCI officers for an unproductive investigation that was apparently slow-moving. He wished the matter had been expeditiously addressed. He added that the driver, Vincent Mukobe, was relieved of his duties.

Nonetheless, the committee dismissed that as a mitigating factor. They questioned why the department would punish the smaller person (Vincent Mukobe) as opposed to his superiors who were in charge of his schedule and handling of government property. Wandayi probed why he had the vehicle after official working hours which ended at 5:00 pm, hinting at inconsistent behaviour by Mukobe’s bosses.

PS Nabukwesi further narrated to the committee that former authorities whose tenure lasted through the vehicle’s vanishing were frustrating recovery efforts to find the car, which at the time had no insurance nor a tracking device.

In a meeting chaired by the former Education PS Professor, Collete Luda, Mukobe’s termination of employment was arrived at.

He was accused of giving false details of the car’s registration as well as lying about his whereabouts on the fateful day. These were the grounds for dismissal.

A Toyota Fortuner in the savannah on a unknown date.

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