- The cleaning supervisor and warder attached to prisons faced a separate charge. It is alleged that they engaged in an arrangement for the purchase of a maisonette at Sh17.5 million.
- Each of the accused was released on a bond of Sh7 million and a surety of a similar amount. They were given an alternative of depositing Sh4 million cash bail.
Image: FILE
A cleaning supervisor from the State Department of Correctional Services and five others have been arraigned in court charged with allegedly pocketing Sh301 million for goods not supplied.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) presented 68 corruption-related charges.
They ranged from abuse of office, money laundering and acquisition of public property.
The accused appeared before Milimani Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore and denied the charges.
Eight others were absent and summons were subsequently issued requiring them to appear in court on Monday next week for plea taking.
According to the charge sheet, all 14 have been accused of conspiring to commit an economic crime.
It is alleged that they fraudulently acquired Sh301 million as payment for goods not supplied to the State Department of Corrections Services.
The offence is said to have been committed between July 1 2014 and March 29 2018.
The cleaning supervisor and warder attached to prisons faced a separate charge. It is alleged that they engaged in an arrangement for the purchase of a maisonette at Sh17.5 million.
The EACC claims that they did so knowing that the monies received from the State Department for Correctional Services formed part of the proceeds of crime. The effect they said was to allegedly disguise the source of the said money.
An officer for the supply chain management Services was charged with using his office to improperly confer a benefit of Sh62,560,000 to a logistics firm being payment for goods not supplied to the State Department for Correctional Services.
The offence is said to have been committed between August 29, 2016, and June 15, 2017, within the Republic of Kenya.
He faced another count of using his office to improperly confer a benefit of Sh51,003,000 to another cleaning firm, being payment for goods not supplied to the State Department for Correctional Services.
A top finance officer at the State Department for Correctional Services was also accused of using her office to improperly confer a benefit of Sh73,342,500 to a supplies firm, being payment for goods not supplied to the State Department for Correctional Services. She faces several other counts similar to this.
A senior accountant at the State Department for Correctional Services was also accused of using his office to improperly confer a benefit of Sh62,560,000 to a logistics company being payment for goods not supplied to the State Department for Correctional Services. He also faced other abuse of office charges.
The state was not opposed to their release on bail but urged the court to ensure the terms were commensurate gravity of the charges facing them.
The Magistrate in granting them bond said "The offences relate to economic crimes and these are issues that are of great concern to the public,"
Each of the accused was released on a bond of Sh7 million and a surety of a similar amount. They were given an alternative of depositing Sh4 million cash bail.
The accused persons were also directed to deposit their passports in court.
She further directed the prosecution to supply the defence with all documents they intended to rely on during the trial.
The matter will be mentioned on August 2 to confirm compliance.