A Kenya Roads Authority(KeRRA) employee, Esher Wanjiru Chege and her six accomplices were yesterday charged at the Kajiado Law courts for corruption offences which involved irregular awarding of Public tenders.
The 7 accused persons were charged with 5 counts of conflict of interest under section 42(3) and section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) with 5 alternative counts of failure to disclose a private interest and 5 counts of unlawful acquisition of public property and other 4 counts.
The court was informed that Wanjiru, who is the 1st accused and was employed as an accountant by Kerra in Kilifi and Kajiado at different times, sat in tender committees which awarded 5 contracts for road construction to companies associated with her (and registered by her husband and brother, co-accused persons in this case) and where she was a signatory.
She failed to declare a conflict of interest and was involved in authorising payments to the said companies in contravention of the ACECA and was found culpable of conspiracy to commit an economic crime.
The accountant is also facing other charges in an ongoing unexplained wealth case, where the EACC is seeking to forfeit Ksh38.6 million.
The accountant, whose net salary during the period under review increased from Ksh49,580 in January 2016 to Ksh116,640 by May 2022, was found to own assets that are disproportionate to her known legitimate sources of income, according to the EACC.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Renson Ingonga, who was represented by Ms Vivian Kambaga, the Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, and Ms Eunice Gitau, Principal Prosecution Counsel, argued that the court should set strict bond terms, given that one of the accused persons had absconded and was out of the jurisdiction of the court and further that the millions misappropriated by the accused persons were public funds, allocated for the construction of public roads in Kilifi and Kajiado counties.
The prosecutors took issue with the argument by the advocate for the accused persons, Dr Muthomi Thiankolu, who had argued that the amount set as the police bond should be maintained by the trial court as cash bail, insisting that the cash bail should reflect the seriousness of the charges that the accused persons were facing before the court.
They pledged not guilty to all charges and the ruling on the bail/ bond is slated for 9th May 2025.
