Former accountant at the State Department for Correctional Services, Humphrey Wende Abok, has been charged in connection with a Ksh 302 million fraudulent prison tender scandal.
The charges, presented at the Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court, allege that Wende and his associates defrauded the State Department by receiving payments for goods that were never supplied.
According to the prosecution, between July 1, 2014, and March 29, 2018, Wende and his co-defendants fraudulently obtained Ksh 301,908,000 intended for undelivered goods.
Wende also faces eight counts of abuse of office under Section 46, as read with Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, No. 3 of 2003.
Former Prison Accountant in Tender Scam
The prosecution, led by Faith Mwila, also detailed how Humphrey Wende improperly allocated substantial sums of money to various companies.
These include Ksh. 42,920,000 to Homex Logistic Enterprises, Ksh. 41,575,000 to Hygienic Ventures, Ksh. 4,780,000 to Reenn East Africa Company, and Ksh. 45,152,500 to Unique Supplies.
Additional funds were disbursed to other companies where Ksh. 18,112,500 went to Mulwa Farm Limited, Ksh. 12,000,000 to Joslil Supplies, Ksh. 25,650,000 to Castro Suppliers, and Ksh. 50,875,000 to Stemu Supplies.
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These payments were made for goods that were never supplied to the State Department for Correctional Services.
However, Wende pleaded not guilty to the charges before Principal Magistrate Celesa Asis Okore. He was granted bail on a bond of Ksh. 7 million, or an alternative cash bail of Ksh. 4 million.
However, the court instructed Wende to deposit his passport and other travel documents with the court. The case is scheduled for mention on September 3, 2024.
This comes after an investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which revealed that officials from Correctional Services and proprietors of 18 companies were involved in fraudulent activities, conspiracies, and forgeries to defraud the public of Ksh 450,138,000.
EACC arrested Eric Kipkirui Mutai, a cleaner at the State Department for Correctional Services and the director of seven of the 18 companies implicated in the scam.
The Companies Registry revealed that Mutai owned several firms that collectively received substantial payments from the State Department for Correctional Services’ Central Bank Account No. 1000302054.
Other Companies that Received Payments
Homex Logistics Enterprises received Ksh. 62,560,000 for groceries, vegetables, and food, while Hygienic Ventures was paid Ksh. 56,223,000 for hair products and sanitary supplies.
Facton Logistics Enterprise obtained Ksh. 13,200,000 for consulting services on constitutional law, and Unique Supplies received Ksh. 79,417,500 for groceries.
Additionally, Nerimas General Agencies and Trechris Investments were paid Ksh. 22,145,000 and Ksh. 13,600,000, respectively, for unspecified goods and while White Unicorn Limited received Ksh. 10,075,000.
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Also, payment vouchers indicated that these seven companies had allegedly supplied goods to various prison facilities, including Nairobi Remand, Kamiti Main Prison, Nairobi West Prison, Lang’ata Women’s Prison, Kamiti Medium, Kamiti YCTC, and Nairobi Medium.
However, investigations revealed that none of these companies actually supplied goods to the prisons, and the payment vouchers did not originate from the facilities.
Additionally, it was established that there were no Local Purchase Orders (LPOs), inspection and acceptance committee certificates, or legitimate payment vouchers.
Delivery notes lacked the names of receiving officers, and the payments were not recorded in the respective vote books of the prisons where deliveries were claimed to have been made.
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