17 officials face charges for expired rice imports

KRA Commissioner Julius Musyoki who was grilled by the DCI yesterday. RIGHT: Kebs Director of Quality Assurance Eric Chesire and Managing Director Charles Ongwae when they were arraigned in court in June. [File, Standard]

A month-long investigation on the entry of substandard goods in the country revved up the anti-graft purge with arrest of 17 top officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) on Friday night.

About 30 more were taken in for questioning by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), but it was not immediately clear how many of this second group will be presented in court tomorrow morning.

Among those questioned is KRA Commissioner Julius Musyoki, who spent the better part of Friday and Saturday at the DCI headquarters but was allowed to go home after a push and pull between detectives on whether to charge him.

Those detained include former Kebs Managing Director Charles Ongwae, Director of Quality Assurance Eric Chesire and Coast Regional Director Martin Nyakiamo. Others arrested from Kebs are Eric Onyango, Peter Ndungu, Daniel Kimonge, Roy Mwanthi, Felix Makau, Bassam Hakem and Irene Githendu.

“The suspects will be charged on Monday with abuse of office and neglect of official duty,” said the DCI on its Twitter handle.

“Detectives are still looking for other suspects connected with the release of the said consignment of Thai rice into the country,” said the DCI.

From KRA, detectives arrested Kiprono Bullut, David Mbogori, Dorothy Wanja, Michael Juma and Ahmed Dhahir. Port Health Officer Pole Mwangeni was also arrested in the sting operation that took place on Friday night.

Dawn arrests

Ten of those arrested were apprehended in Mombasa and whisked overnight to Nairobi, while 20, including Ongwae were picked from their houses in the capital just before dawn yesterday for the short trip to DCI headquarters.

Expired rice from Thailand has been entering the country after being repackaged in the high seas with the blessings of a cartel of government officials before hitting the shelves as Kenyan rice.

Most of the rice had already been declared unfit for human consumption after testing at the Mombasa port and was supposed to be sent back to the country of origin. Sources at the DCI have told the Sunday Standard that money hungry port officials working in cahoots with their KRA counterparts have been pretending to send such rice back to the country of origin.

However, behind the scenes, the officials have been organising for new packaging to be printed on Kenyan soil. The repackaging is then shipped to the high seas where the unfit for human consumption rice is packaged then landed at the port as a fresh consignment.

Investigations kicked off after National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials flagged down a staggering one million bags of rice at the Port of Mombasa last month that had already been declared unfit for human consumption but still found its way to Kenya. 

The consignment was past the expiry date by three years was stored in warehouse awaiting distribution in the market. And while the estimate of the commercial damage runs into billions of shillings, the damage to human health cannot be quantified.

“The operation is ongoing and the aim is to save Kenya,” DCI George Kinoti said.

Ongwae, Chesire and Nyakiamo have pending cases in court for allegedly allowing importation of substandard sugar, attempted murder and abuse of office. The four are free on a Sh10 million bond with sureties of Sh3 million each and a Sh2 million cash bail.

The arrests came just hours after President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed not to relent in his war on corruption when he signed the Finance Bill that is set to see the cost of living go up.

More arrests

Those in the know say investigations on how contraband goods enter the country are ongoing and that more arrests will be made soon. It is estimated that the country could be losing an upwards of Sh100 billion per month courtesy of corrupt officials working at the port.

“I give my commitment that I will ensure proper utilisation of public resources for a better Kenya. I will not relent on the war against corruption,” said president Kenyatta on Friday.

Just three months ago, rice and expired spaghetti valued at Sh250 million was destroyed after it was declared unfit for human consumption. Kebs said the food, contained in 163 containers, underwent thorough screening before being declared sub-standard.

As a result of corruption at the port, the government has imposed new rules that require all goods destined for Kenya be verified at source.