Xavier Radio Ug News 24 7
Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege on Thursday, summoned Domitila Mailo of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) to testify in the fraud and forgery case facing Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago.
Mandago is charged alongside county officials Meshack Rono and Joshua Lelei.
Mailo is supposed to appear on November 27 and testify as a prosecution witness.Ndege issued the summons after Mailo failed to appear even after being bonded to testify in the case.
Prosecutor Moses Macharia said Mailo was unable to attend court after injuring her ankle and urged the court to summon her.
According to Macharia, the official will shed light on the account into which parents from Uasin Gishu paid fees for their children to study abroad.
The summons were issued after witness number 136, Koech Kipkosgei, testified against the three.
Kipkosgei testified that he paid Sh650,000 as school fees plus Sh10,000 registration fees for his son Paul Kipchirchir.
“He was to study nursing. I was informed that the total amount I was supposed to pay was Sh1.6 million,” testified Kipkosgei.
He said that Lelei, acting as an official of the county, informed him and other parents that the programme was good and he even knew that other students had travelled.
Kipkosgei testified that the programme was, however, delayed and parents started worrying, which discouraged him from adding more money.
“We complained and went to the office to enquire about the delay but we got no answers. My son did not travel and that is why I took legal action,” he testified against the three county officials.
The case will continue on November 27 and 28.
The case relates in a scholarship programme that allegedly did not take off, in which about 1.1bn Kenyan shillings ($7.6m; £5.9m) was paid by parents who wanted their children to further their education in Finland and Canada.
Kenyan President William Ruto has called for the accused to be ”held accountable.”
Dozens of students allegedly remained stranded in Kenya despite their parents paying part of the money for the education programme, local news outlets report.
Parents have narrated accounts of selling property including livestock and land to source the funds.
The payments were made during Mandago’s tenure as the governor of Uasin Gichu county in 2021.
Case with KCB
While accusing KCB officials of being part of the bigger plot, the committee is demanding a forensic financial audit of the Uasin Gishu Education Overseas Trust Account at the KCB Eldoret East branch, and that county employees mentioned as beneficiaries of the transactions from the account be suspended pending investigations.
According to bank statements tabled before the committee, several individuals, including senior county officials are among the irregular beneficiaries of funds meant for the students.
“The County Executive to engage the services of an independent and reputable external forensic auditor to audit the account and report back to the county assembly within 30 days.
The forensic auditor’s term of reference shall be to analyse the financial data to look for evidence of the crime,” said the report.
The committee further wants KCB to investigate and take necessary action against its staff for professional negligence, by allowing the Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust Account to be opened without conducting due diligence.
The report reveals that some trustees heavily benefited financially from withdrawals from the account, although they were not entitled to a monetary benefit.
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