Reprieve for Mandago as DCI now seeks to withdraw Sh1 billion case

Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, Joshua Lelei and Meshack Rono at Nakuru Law Courts on July 22, 2024. [File, Standard]

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has proposed the withdrawal of the Sh1.1 billion Finland and Canada Education Programme Scandal case facing Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and two county officials.

The DCI wants the case replaced by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) against Mandago and seven others. In the current case, Mr Mandago is charged alongside county officials Meshack Rono and Joshua Lelei, before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege.

On Wednesday, when the case came up for mention there was no mention of the withdrawal. “The case will proceed from the week commencing on December 2, the prosecution should provide witnesses scheduled to testify,” directed Ndege.

On September 25, the Director of Public Prosecution Renson Ingonga wrote to the EACC, approving the new charges against Mandago. The charges, according to Ingonga, would also include more suspects.

The new suspects will include other county officials from the education department, gender, youth affairs and companies involved in the alleged scandal. Ingonga’s recommendation followed the DCI letter dated September 19, 2024 and seen by The Standard, urging the DPP to withdraw the case. In the letter, Deputy Director of Investigations Paul Wachira indicated that the DCI wanted the charges against Mandago, Rono and Lelei withdrawn.

According to Wachira, when the case was filed in court, the DCI was yet to conclude investigations. Wachira wrote that DCI was yet to establish the number of students admitted in Finland’s Tampere, Laurea, Jyvaskylla, Gradia Consortium College, Metropolia, and LUT universities.

“The DCI was also yet to establish the amount of academic fees and other incidental costs paid by each of the students,” wrote Wachira.

He wrote that DCI was yet to secure original documents  as the same had been collected by EACC. He said DCI had not established the number of students admitted in Canadian universities, Thompsons Rivers, Northern Lights College and Sternberg College, and academic fees and incidental costs for each.

“We did not know the number of visas processed at the Embassy of Finland and High Commission of Canada for students who were to travel and the fee,” he wrote.

He said they were yet to get hold of agents who were the link between Uasin Gishu county government and universities in both countries, noting that their evidence was crucial.

Further, the DCI felt that the issue of the Pathways studies programme, introduced later by Finland universities became pertinent during the hearings and they needed clarification. “It was clear that we did not know at what stage the pathway studies were introduced, whether it was offered online or physically, how much it cost and how many students participated,” wrote Wachira.

The DCI accused the trial court of bias, noting that it issued warrants of arrest against Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii and other officials before issuing summons as provided by the law. The hearing will continue on December 2, 2024.