Former NYS boss faces fraud charges

Former National Youth Service (NYS) Director General Nelson Githinji will now be charged with abuse of office for using public funds to service his private vehicle.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has ordered the prosecution of Mr Githinji after perusing a file forwarded to his office by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The DPP agreed with EACC recommendations that Githinji, his former personal assistant Nicholas Makokha and a senior mechanic at the NYS Geoffrey Kiriha, be charged with facilitating the fraud.

"Having given full consideration to the evidence in the file, the DPP is satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to support the recommended charges against all suspects," said Mr Tobiko.

EACC recommended the suspects be charged with abuse of office, conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent acquisition of public property.

According to the report, the servicing and maintenance of the vehicle cost the taxpayer Sh497,335 paid by the NYS.

Githinji, who stepped aside from his post at the NYS in November 2015, is already facing charges of attempting to cover up the fraud at the institution.

Conspiracy to steal

Together with former Planning Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti and businessman Ben Gethi, Githinji is accused of attempting to induce Adan Harakhe,  senior deputy director general in charge of administration at the NYS, not to follow up with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on a conspiracy to steal Sh695 million from the institution.

Githinji has denied the charges levelled against him.

He and Mangiti have been charged alongside 23 other NYS employees who have been identified as those who not only conspired to defraud the institution of Sh695 million, but also stole Sh791 million.

Yesterday, the DPP also ordered that top Turkana County officials be charged with various charges over awarding of a contract for rehabilitation of Lodwar-Napeikar-Moruese road at Sh11 million yet the Kenya Rural Roads Authority had done similar works on the same road for Sh1.1 million.

Tobiko has also ended corruption investigations against Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho, saying there is no evidence linking him to the alleged sale of a market in Mwembe Tayari in Mombasa in 1996.

Tobiko has consequently ordered the file closed after EACC did not find sufficient evidence to sustain a corruption case against Mr Joho.

It had been alleged that Joho facilitated the allocation of the pubic market - Block VXII/MI/552 - to businessmen Mohammed Abdullah Zubedi and Abdulhakim Abdullah Zubedi.