Former Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal has been ordered to pay a total amount of Ksh85.4 million or face 8 years in prison after he was found guilty of engaging in a Ksh83.3 million corruption scandal.
Justice Thomas Nzioki of the Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday, August 29 evening issued the ruling which also stated that the former county boss had been banned from applying for any public office for ten years.
“There was no excuse for him to trade with the county. The acquisition of the Ksh83 million was a benefit that went to his pocket and that of his accomplice,” Judge Nzioki noted.
The ruling was delivered after Lenolkulal was found guilty of conflict of interest and fraudulent acquisition of public property.
The former governor was convicted following accusations of corruptly receiving Ksh84 million for the supply of petroleum products at the county government when he was the county chief.
Trial Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki in the verdict said there was no doubt that Lenolkulal and his proxy Hesbon Ndathi were the ultimate beneficiaries of the public funds from the evidence produced in court by the prosecution.
Further, the magistrate said there is overwhelming evidence that Lenolkulal, being the governor of Samburu at the time the offences are said to have been committed, acted in a conflict of interest.
“A public officer must take keen interest in the affairs of his office. They should always adhere to principles of good governance. In law, a governor stands prohibited from trading with his county government,” said Nzyuki.
The magistrate relied on over 200 payment vouchers and lpos as evidence of Lenolkulal’s direct trading with the county.
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Lenolkulal Convicted
He said his integrity was compromised by private interest and faulted the county secretary who was the second accused person in the case for the role he played that led to the loss of the monies.
Further, the court said the county secretary signed and approved payments while aware Lenolkulal was the owner of Oryx service station.
“The accounting office flatly lied on oath that they didn’t know Lenolkulal was the owner of Oryx. They shouldn’t have approved the payments to Oryx,” said the court.
This ruling came after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) moved to recover the millions from the former Governor suspected to have been proceeds of corruption.
Former Samburu Governor Charged
Lenolkulal was in 2019 charged with abuse of office and graft-related counts before the Milimani anti-corruption magistrate court.
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The former governor was charged with four counts of abuse of office and conflict of interest leading to the loss of Sh83 million in public funds from the Samburu County government.
EACC accused Lenolkulal of influencing tenders in the county to favour Oryx Service Station, a company linked to him.
The anti-graft body testified that Oryx Service Station entered into contracts with the Samburu County government and the company was paid about Sh80 million for the supply of fuel.
The court was told that Oryx Service Station supplied fuel to the county government between 2014 and 2019.
Kasaine was dealt with a blow months after an earlier ruling by Justice Esther Maina ordered for the seizure of his four Prime properties in Karen by EACC, including his multi-million-shilling matrimonial home.
In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission said that it had commenced the process of implementing the judgment by the court and that it would recover the money with a 12% interest.
Lenolkulal’s Defense has since requested for the accused persons to be released on bail pending the sentencing. The prosecution has however asked the court not to consider it.
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