A mind-boggling figure of Ksh113.7 billion has been deemed as unaccounted for following graft scandals during a two-month period, dating from January 1, 2019.
The staggering amount was derived following data gathered by Kenyans.co.ke involving graft scandals ranging from the Ksh100 million-and-above mark, as reported from various sources.
Here are the graft cases that formed the basis of the final figure:
1. Over Ksh10 billion feared lost in new NHIF pay scandal - February 25th, 2019
This was The Standard newspapers’ headline which detailed allegations of graft amounting to Ksh10 billion at the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).
According to reports, the figure had been flagged as fraudulent and was part of about Ksh50 billion paid to NHIF by Treasury, as capitation premiums for medical cover for civil servants, Kenya Police Service, National Youth Service, and Kenya Prisons Service since 2013.
In the damning reports, it was alleged that some rogue NHIF officials might have colluded with hospitals to generate false medical bills for kitty beneficiaries who had never sought treatment.
“This is the most cruel graft I have so far encountered. These merciless people have been stealing patients’ money, leaving them to die,” revealed DCI Director, George Kinoti.
2. DCI Summons 107 Companies Linked to the Mega-dams Scandal
The headline, as captured by Kenyans.co.ke on February 25, 2019, entailed Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) summoning companies linked to the currently evolving multi-billion shilling dam scandal.
The named companies were stated as being linked to the fraudulent construction of both Arror (at a cost of Ksh38.5 billion) and Kimwarer Multi-purpose dams (at a cost of Ksh28 billion).
In a report by the Nation on Wednesday, further details regarding the scandals continued to emerge including how companies supplied items unrelated to dam construction including Ksh20 Million worth of towels as well as carpets and tiles.
The plot has continued to thicken with Ken Osinde, an aide to Deputy President William Ruto, being mentioned as one of the key suspects in the scandal that has rocked the nation.
He was listed as a director of Sanlam Company, which is part of the 107 firms whose directors were summoned to record statements with the DCI
3. EACC grill Samburu governor over Ksh2 billion theft - February 20th, 2019
According to a Kenyans.co.ke, anti-corruption detectives on Wednesday last week raided and searched three homes believed to belong to the Governor.
The report revealed that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officials were after files related to the fraudulent expenditure of Ksh2 billion, with one report detailing how a cleaner at the county offices pocketed Ksh26 million from the loot.
The simultaneous raids took place at the Governor’s Karen and Samburu homes as well as his office, where detectives were in search of documents linking him to the graft allegations.
4. Kenya Power yet to locate files in bogus transformers case - February 8th, 2019
The Daily Nation covered this story involving the alleged procurement of defective transformers valued at over Ksh4.5 billion.
It was reported that the firm was yet to recover three missing tender documents namely; tender evaluation report, budget approval, and a negotiation report, to justify the suspicious procurement process.
During a hearing at the Milimani Law Court, forensic audit general manager, John Mbaabu, revealed that the documents had disappeared mysteriously from the firm's offices.
Mbaabu added that officers in the corporate and supply chain divisions had stated that, in a bid to make the office neat, documents were transferred from spring files to box files, and that the task was given to interns, so the documents could have gone missing during this exercise.
5. Ksh14 billion KETRACO scandal – February 4th, 2019
Earlier in the year, NTV ran a report that highlighted the possibility of the misappropriation of Ksh14 billion by the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company officials.
According to an evaluation of the evidence gathered, it was suspected that the officials had colluded with some National Land Commission members to inflate the value of land during construction of Nairobi-Mombasa power line, in a bid to loot the taxpayers’ coffers.
An instance was cited in which the company was accused of paying Ksh35 million for 8.4 hectares of land when the real value should have been Ksh4.5 million.
6. Lands Ministry Failure to Account for Ksh20 Billion – February 24th, 2019
The shocking Auditor-General Edward Ouko's report painted a grim picture of glaring discrepancies in the financial documents of the ministry headed by Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney.
An example cited was the auditor's realisation that cash in hand as captured in the department's financial statement was Ksh201,038, yet the same item had a corresponding entry of Ksh8.2 billion in the trial balance.
In a separate incident, a recurrent bank account managed by the ministry showed a balance of Ksh1.8 million against Ksh1.8 billion declared in the trial balance as at the end of the financial year.
A further Ksh2 billion claimed to have been spent on compensation of employees, was charged to the acquisition of utilities, training expenses, communication, vehicle maintenance, fuel and purchase of office furniture.
Several other cases have been mentioned during this period such as the Ksh10 billion alleged fraudulent purchase of used trains from Spain among numerous other emerging scandals.
However, all these cases are being probed as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations tries to piece together evidence to pinpoint those culpable.
