The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has obtained court orders stopping the payment of Sh 6.1 billion to several companies over alleged fictitious contracts and goods not supplied to the National Youth Service (NYS).
Lady Justice Lucy Njuguna of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court in Nairobi issued the temporary orders, halting the payments pending the hearing and determination of the case.
The Commission said it launched investigations after receiving a report from the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Affairs, Gender, Senior Citizens and Special Programs, seeking verification of payment claims amounting to about KES 6 billion submitted to NYS by various suppliers.
The suppliers included Highview Trading, Horizon Limited, Link General, Real Tool Trading, Ratego Technologies, Comptool Trading, Jimchar Enterprises, Liz Link General Suppliers, Newtool Mart Trading and Tison Limited.
Investigations established that Schoolwork Enterprises, Newtool Mart Trading, Ratego Technologies, Realtool Trading, Comptool Trading and Horizon Limited,associated with Ben Gethi Wangui, Liz Link General Suppliers owned by Elizabeth Wangeci Ngugi, Link General and Jimchar Enterprises Limited owned by Susan Nyambura Mburu, and Tison Limited, named in the suit as the 1st to 6th defendants, submitted 277 Local Purchase Orders (LPOs), delivery notes and invoices to NYS.
“Through these documents, they demanded payment of Kes6,167,797,655 for the purported supply and delivery of various goods allegedly procured by NYS during the 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years,” EACC said Thursday.The purported supplies were based on LPOs allegedly issued by NYS during the period.
However, investigators found that NYS officials colluded with the companies to falsify accountability documents, including LPOs, Goods Received Notes (Counter Receipt Voucher – S13), Stock Control Cards (S3), and inspection and acceptance forms.
The officials fraudulently signed the documents despite knowing that no deliveries had been made to the central or mother units at NYS, no inspections were conducted, and no goods were distributed to sub-units.
The officials who allegedly facilitated the fraud are named in the suit as the 7th to 15th defendants.
Upon presentation of the LPOs, EACC said delivery notes, invoices and payment vouchers were prepared for signature by various officers — including the accounting officer of NYS — to facilitate settlement of the claims.
An analysis of payment vouchers and their annexures forwarded by NYS to EACC, serialized as S/No. 000001–002901, revealed multiple irregularities.
These included the absence of requisitions attached to payment vouchers; LPOs not signed by an accountant to commit funds in the vote book, contrary to Regulation 52 of the Public Finance Management (National Government) Regulations, 2015; and LPOs lacking NYS stamps.
Further, investigators found that the LPOs submitted by the companies were counterfeit, as they neither originated from NYS nor were they issued by the Government Printer.
“Investigations established that 248 LPOs and S13 forms attached to the payment vouchers were not printed by the Government Printer or issued to NYS,” EACC said.Genuine LPOs and S13s from the Government Printer are produced using a flexographic process, the commission said, while those presented bore computer-type characters and were therefore forgeries.
