Ruling on Bungoma wheelbarrows saga postponed again

Judgement against seven suspects implicated in purchase of wheelbarrows at inflated prices in Bungoma County will have to wait until June 7 to know their fate.

This is after Kakamega Law Courts Chief Magistrate Bildad Ochieng' who is handling the matter deferred the key verdict for the second time saying the judgment is not ready.

The seven accused persons are John Juma Matsanza, Howard Lukadilu, Oscar Onyango Ojwang, Ayub Tuvaka China, Arlington Shikuku Omushieni, Jacquiline Nanjala Namukali and Reuben Cheruiyot Rutto.

The seven who were members of the tender committee are facing five counts of willful failure to comply with procurement laws leading to the county government incurring excessive expenditure.

On May 24, the magistrate deferred the judgement saying pressure of work at the law courts had made it impossible to deliver the judgement on time.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives who flocked the court expecting to detain the seven were forced to wait further.

State Counsel Paul Juma, in his final submissions said that the prosecution had proved their case beyond reasonable doubt after parading a total of 16 witnesses who implicated the accused persons with unlawful use of public funds.

Mr Juma insisted that the seven who were members of the tender committee turned down recommendation by the valuation committee after the prices exceeded the prevailing market prices.

“All the witnesses have told this court that the tender committee members never conducted a market survey to establish what a single wheelbarrow cost,” he added.

He submitted that after a survey by the EACC officers who investigated the matter, it was established that the price of a wheelbarrow varied between Sh2,500 and Sh3,500 and not Sh109,320 that the wheelbarrows were bought.

“From the foregoing, it is clear that the tender committee together with the County Secretary are liable for excessive payments of goods procured thereby contravening Public Finance Management Act 2012 and Public Procurement Act 2012 that requires procurements to be made within the prevailing market prices.”

However, through their lawyer Sylvester Mandialo, the accused persons said that the investigations were conducted when the EACC was not properly constituted.

Mandialo submitted that in the absence of commissioners and the chairman, the EACC could not make any finding to prosecute the seven accused persons.

 “In the absence of the commissioners, the mandate to investigate and prefer charges do not lie with the secretariat. We pray that these court find that the process of investigations was illegal and irregular and acquaint the accused persons.

The wheelbarrows were purchased in November 2013 when Ken Lusaka was the Bungoma County governor.

An audit report in September 2015 revealed that 10 wheelbarrows were bought at Sh109,320 each, exposing massive corruption in the county government. This means the administration spent a whopping Sh1,093,200 to acquire the wheelbarrows.

Governor Lusaka had earlier defended the purchase by the veterinary department, saying the wheelbarrows “were not ordinary”.

Lusaka had said they were specially fabricated and tailor-made for use in slaughterhouses.

“The information that I am getting from the veterinary department is that these are not the ordinary wheelbarrows that we know. These are wheelbarrows that are made of stainless, non-carcinogenic material and are used in the food industry,” said Lusaka.

The residents marched in the town streets and went to the county government offices carrying twigs, wheelbarrows and placards reading “Lusaka must go!”

Bungoma County government invited EACC to investigate the saga surrounding the purchase of 10 wheelbarrows.

Bungoma residents and Kenyans in general expressed their anger on social media when it emerged that a wheelbarrow cost Sh109,000.