The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested the Deputy Clerk and Director of Finance and Accounts at the Nyamira County Assembly, Leonard Kevin Nyamasege, over an alleged procurement scandal linked to the construction of an office block at the assembly.
In a statement on Tuesday, June 30, the anti-graft agency said the case stems from investigations into the award of a construction tender that allegedly resulted in an unlawful financial benefit of more than Ksh30 million to a contractor.
"The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested the Deputy Clerk/Director, Finance and Accounts of the Nyamira County Assembly, Leonard Kevin Nyamasege, over alleged procurement irregularities in the award of a tender for the construction of an office block at the County Assembly of Nyamira.
"The arrest follows investigations into the alleged irregular award of a tender to Jetta Builders Ltd despite the company not being the lowest evaluated bidder," the statement read.
According to EACC, its investigations found that the procurement process unlawfully benefited the contractor.
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"Investigations established that the unlawful award conferred an undue financial benefit of Ksh30,187,396 to the contractor," the statement added.
EACC also confirmed that the investigation file had already been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved criminal charges against Nyamasege and five other individuals.
"Upon completion of investigations, the Commission forwarded the inquiry file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved the prosecution of Nyamasege alongside five other suspects. They face various charges, including Abuse of Office, Willful Failure to Comply with the Law Relating to the Management of Public Funds, and Negligence of Official Duty," the statement further read.
According to EACC, Nyamasege was apprehended on Monday, June 30, and arraigned before Christabel Agutu at the Nyamira Law Courts.
However, the court did not proceed with plea taking after the defence informed the court that it had obtained interim orders from the High Court in Kisumu.
"However, the Court deferred plea taking after counsel for the suspect informed the Court that he had obtained orders from the High Court in Kisumu staying the arrest and arraignment of his client pending the hearing and determination of a petition filed before the Court. The said orders had not been served upon the Commission," the statement explained.
The matter is scheduled to be mentioned on July 28 for further directions.
EACC said the arrest followed the apprehension of Nyamira County Assembly Clerk Duke Simeon Onyari on June 3 in connection with the same procurement case.
In a statement earlier in June, EACC said Onyari's arrest followed investigations and approval of charges by the ODPP.
"The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested the Clerk of the Nyamira County Assembly, Duke Simeon Onyari, over alleged procurement irregularities in the award of a tender for the construction of an office block at the County Assembly of Nyamira," the statement read.
EACC said the arrests stemmed from investigations into claims that the procurement process for the project was improperly handled, resulting in unfair selection of a contractor.
"The arrests follow investigations into allegations of the irregular award of Tender No. CAN/T/027/2017-2021 to Jetta Builders Ltd, despite the company not being the lowest evaluated bidder," the statement added.
According to the agency, the decision to award the tender allegedly caused significant financial loss to the public through inflated costs.
"The investigation established that the decision unlawfully conferred a financial benefit of Ksh30,187,396 to the contractor, resulting in a corresponding loss of public funds," the statement noted.
Following completion of investigations, the file was forwarded to the ODPP, which approved criminal charges against several officials, including senior administrative and technical staff at the County Assembly.
