A court has ordered a one-time political advisor to former Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu to pay the Government of Kenya Ksh 12,458,990. Geoffrey Kimonge was ordered to pay the said amount after a case was filed against him by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
According to the commission, it obtained orders on February 28 for the recovery of the said amount.
In a judgment delivered by Voi Chief Magistrate Mildred Obura, the court found that Kimonge had “illegally and fraudulently acquired public funds by applying for imprest for fictitious activities while serving as a political advisor to John Mruttu.
The court further found that Kimonge had unjustly enriched himself with public funds, contrary to the law.
“The Court therefore ordered Kimonge to pay the Government of Kenya Ksh 12,458,990 together with interest at commercial rates from the date of acquisition until payment in full,” read the statement in part.
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Allegations Against Geoffrey Kimonge
The case stems from August 2020, when EACC received a complaint alleging that Kimonge Geoffrey had fraudulently acquired public funds belonging to the County Government of Taita Taveta.
It was alleged that the former political advisor had fraudulently obtained a total of Ksh 13,878,587 in the form of imprest, purportedly for allowances of Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) and staff of the County Government of Taita Taveta.
Investigations revealed that Kimonge Geoffrey applied for imprest on diverse dates, totaling Ksh 13,878,587, for various activities involving MCAs.
It was further established that the said activities were fictitious, and therefore, the funds were not utilized for their intended purposes.
EACC Launching Case Against the Former Political Advisor
In 2022, the EACC filed a civil recovery suit, Civil Suit E131 of 2022, seeking various orders including a declaration that the former Taita Taveta County employee illegally and fraudulently acquired the funds in breach of public trust and orders for payment of the Ksh 13,878,587.00 together with interest.
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This followed subsequent investigations, during which EACC allegedly discovered that Mbogho had fraudulently acquired the funds between November 2015 and May 2017.
“On 20th November 2015 he fraudulently applied for and received imprest of Ksh.1 million purportedly for allowances for Members of various County Assembly Wards within the said County. He never paid the monies to the said Members of County Assembly Wards,” EACC said in an earlier statement.
“On 27th November 2015 he fraudulently applied for and received imprest of Ksh.1,070,000 purportedly for allowances for Members of various County Assembly Wards within the said County. He never paid the monies to the said Members of County Assembly Wards.”
Between October 9 and December 2015, Mbogho is said to have cumulatively obtained Ksh 1,795,200, which was meant to facilitate official county engagements.
On diverse dates between March 2016 and December 2016, he is also accused of falsely obtaining Ksh 6,244,790 under the same pretense and failing to remit the funds to county staff.
“On December 13, 2016, he fraudulently applied for and received imprest of Ksh 7,233,381, purportedly as a daily subsistence allowance (per diem) for employees of the said County Government traveling to Dubai,” said EACC.
“Investigations established that he never remitted Ksh 1,307,997 to some of the employees of the said county and has never surrendered the imprest.”
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