High Court Judge Esther Maina convicted a former Chebororwa Agricultural Training Centre principal and four others accused of defrauding a State institution.
In a judgment delivered at Milimani High Court in Nairobi, Judge Maina, on June 15, ordered the principal, his wife and two others to return Ksh11.5 million after they were found guilty of stealing public funds.
Justice Maina also ordered the convicts to refund the stolen money with an annual interest of 12 per cent starting in 2017 when the theft was orchestrated.
“On diverse dates between February 23, 2017, and May 19, 2017, the principal and wife and the district accountant, embezzled all the funds totaling Ksh11,493,000,” read court documents.
Detectives drawn from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), accused the five suspects of fraudulently withdrawing the funds through cheques in the name of the principal and his proxies.
After examining the presented evidence, the judge expressed satisfaction and observed that the defense failed to prove that the accusations were false.
As such, the five were found to have contravened Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA), which defines abuse of office as using a public office to confer a benefit on oneself or anyone else illegally.
Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) prohibits state officials from using their positions to award contracts through flawed procurement processes.
The law also prohibits state officers from accepting bribes in exchange for awarding a contract or using their influence to steal public funds.
Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) imposes penalties, which include fines amounting to a maximum of Ksh1 million, imprisonment for a duration of up to 10 years, or both.
While assuming office as EACC Chairman on May 10, Bishop David Oginde promised to tackle corruption in the country by focusing on key areas, with a particular emphasis on the prevention of corrupt practices.
The former CITAM Presiding Bishop stated that EACC will work to prevent corruption by strengthening the ethics and anti-corruption framework within the country.
This, he observed includes developing and implementing new policies and procedures, and training public officers extensively.
He also vowed that EACC will investigate all reported allegations of corruption, irrespective of the magnitude or complexity of the purported corruption cases.
"The EACC will also work to recover public funds that have been lost to corruption," Bishop Oginda stated.
