County staff faces probe over Sh26m theft
A Nairobi magistrate has ordered the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions to institute fresh investigations against a Wajir county employee alleged to have collected Sh26.1 million from a bank.
Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Teresia Murigi issued the directive after acquitting three Wajir county officials namely Daud Abdullahi (head of finance), Ahmed Sahal Omar (County Secretary) and Jeff Mworia Kithinji (Head of Treasury and Economic advisor to the governor) over a charge of conspiring to embezzle public fund’s belonging to Wajir county amounting to Sh26.1 million.
In her ruling, Murigi asked the state to take action against a Mr Hassan who was adversely mentioned during the hearing of the case as the one who collected Sh26.1 million from KCB Bank Wajir branch after Mworia signed the cheques for the withdrawal of the cash from the Wajir imprest account on October 9, 2018.
“In order to close this matter, EACC and DPP should endeavour to investigate one Hassan to establish where he took the Sh26.1 million public property belonging to Wajir county government,” ordered Murigi.
She wondered why the EACC and the DPP did not record a statement or call him to explain where he took the money as the same was never received at the county offices.
According to the bank, Hassan is the one who received the money in question in two tranches and no one including the accused persons are aware of where he took the cash between October 5 and October 8, 2018.
She said Hassan was a crucial prosecution witness who needed to testify in the case alongside 29 others including Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi Mohamud.
But Murigi jailed the three Wajir county officials for four years or pay a fine of Sh 2.4 million over abuse of office and willful failure to comply with procurement laws. Murigi convicted the three saying that the prosecution
