A few weeks ago, EACC sleuths raided Samburu governor’s home in investigations linked to embezzlement of Ksh.2billion.
In the latest move, the Samburu boss Moses Kasaine Lenolkulal has now been barred from transferring, disposing or in any other way dealing with Four Prime Properties situated in Karen area for the next 6 months.
The court further froze five accounts belonging to Mr. Lenolkulal held at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) for a period of 21 days to allow for scrutiny during the said periods.
EACC is investigating the governor on allegations of corruption, economic crimes, bribery as well as conflict of interest amongst contractors and officials of the Samburu County Government.
EACC sought orders to enable them complete investigations before instituting recovery proceedings against the governor and Oryx Service Station.
According to EACC, Oryx Service Station is a company associated with the Samburu County boss and was awarded a contract to supply diesel and petrol to Samburu County for the period 2014-2019 and got paid an allegedly excess of Ksh.80,763,715.35 from the county during the period 2013-2018.
The new EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak had revealed massive atrocities where the county lost more than Sh2 billion in the last four years.
Lenolkulal now joins the list of Governors who have been linked to alleged corruption cases in their counties.
Some of them include Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia Governor), Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Waithaka Mwangi (former Nyandarua Governor) and Evans Kidero (former Nairobi Governor).
“The commission has evidence of millions of shillings in bribes paid to various county employees by companies that awarded contracts,” it said.
“Investigations further revealed that the officers under investigations invested the embezzled funds in real estate development,” it added.
The officers who raided the residences were armed with search warrants from court.
“We are targeting the governor, chief officers, directors and contractors for wanton misappropriation of public funds amounting to Sh2 billion,” the source told the Nation during the raid in Karen.
In Maralal, EACC detectives blocked some county government workers from accessing their offices.
Staff working at Mr Kasaine’s office and the county treasury were denied access after the EACC team made a human shield and blocked the entrances before locking them with a huge padlock.
“I had reported to work as usual when I found people guarding our office, they identified themselves as EACC officers and ordered me to go back until when they will open the office,” a cleaner said outside the offices.
At the county boss’s home, no one was allowed to get into the compound as unknown number of EACC officers combed through the rooms.
“It is reasonably suspected that the proceeds of the aforesaid contract which are public funds may have been used by the governor to purchase the properties and to accumulate substantial property of illicit wealth which is amenable to forfeiture to the state, “read court papers.
EACC, through court papers, also claimed that the governor purchased properties each worth at least Ksh.15 million in Karen on July 8, 2015.
“The commission is reasonably apprehensive that the governor, in light of the ongoing investigations, may in the intervening period, transfer, dispose or in any other way deal with the properties to defeat the course of justice before the commission has completed its investigations and commenced civil proceedings,” added EACC.
The commission also accused public officers in Mr. Lenolkulai’s government of trading with the county through their companies or in collusion with private contractors in complete violation of the fiduciary positions and in conflict of their personal and public interest.
The ethics and anti corruption commission detectives raided the rural and Nairobi residences of Samburu governor Moses Lenolkulal Kasaine in a 2 billion shillings suspected fraud. #KTNPointBlank #KTNPrime pic.twitter.com/GkBGUVh3Ja— ktn (@KTNKenya) February 20, 2019
“The commission is investigating allegations that within the period 2013 and 2018 several companies that tendered or were awarded high value contracts by the County Government of Samburu to provide to it goods and services are associated with or owned by the employees of the said County thereby resulting to Ksh.673 million being paid by the County Government of Samburu to the said companies,” read court papers.
EACC further alluded to claims that senior officials in the county received bribes to the tune of Ksh.86 million from several contractors and suppliers in order to influence award of tenders in their favor.
In an affidavit by Joel Khisa, the commission said investigations are likely to take some time given the period for which the investigations are being conducted, colossal amount of assets and funds involved, the multiplicity of transactions and the possible numerous illegal acts or offences involved.