Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji has ordered arrest and prosecution of former Nyandarua County Governor Daniel Waithaka, alongside other county officials in connection with fraudulent tender pay-off.
A statement from the DPP’s office sent to news room puts Mr Daniel Waithaka on the spot for a breach of procurement laws when they sourced for a company to design water and sewerage project.
It indicates that Nyandarua County flouted the procurement laws and regulations when it awarded the tender to M/S Tahal Consulting Engineers on May 15, 2016 for Ol Kalou Town project.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission established that the county government made errors in pursuing the County Water Master Plan project, since it did not meet various requirements for the process.
Some of the notable mistakes the county committed are that the government did not have funds or plan in place for the project, as per financial year 2013/2014.
M/S Tahal Consulting Engineers also failed to meet the threshold required to carry out the project, statement reveals. That at the time the contract was signed on April 20, 2014, the company was not even registered.
This according to the DPP’s office rendered the payment of Sh50m to the company illegal.
The findings of the EACC reveal that the county paid for the tender in two instalments. More than Sh23m was paid to the company on July 2, 2014, with another instalment adding to over Sh26m being paid on September 4, 2015.
On May 22, 2018, the EACC recommended the prosecution of former county boss Daniel Waithaka, County Executive Committee member in water and environment docket Grace Gitonga, County Officers Kihiu Gaiko, Jesse Mwangi and John Ngigi.
Apart from the M/S Tahal Consulting Engineers are two others: Chen Yochanan Ofer and Albert Attias who will face charges of economic crimes and fraudulent acquisition of public property.
