The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has won a case in the High Court to recover Sh11,493,000 stolen from Chebororwa Agricultural Training Centre (Chebororwa ATC), in Uasin Gishu County in 2017.
This involved the former Principal Nicholas Kirop Kaino, his wife Rose Rotich, District Accountant for Marakwet West Sub-County Alison Odera Mkangula and two others.
The fraud was hatched and executed by the Principal and District Accountant who fraudulently withdrew all the funds in the subject bank account amounting to Sh11,493,000 through various cheques drawn in their favour and in favour of four business entities associated with them namely Rotkan Investments, Wagabi Enterprises, Jergens Enterprises and Forgill Agencies, which did not supply anything to the institution.
Rotkan Investments is a business entity owned by Kaino, and his wife Rose.
Wagabi Enterprises is a business entity owned by Bernard Absolom Sanya, who had appointed Marrion Paulyne Dome, his relative, as an agent to the entity’s bank account.
Jergens Enterprises and Forgill Agencies are business entities registered in the name of Marrion Paulyne Dome.
Both Bernard Absolom Sanya and Marrion Paulyne Dome were established, through investigations, to be acting for and on behalf of the District Accountant.
In her judgement delivered on June 15, 2023, Justice Esther Maina, sitting at Milimani High Courts in Nairobi, ordered the defendants to pay to the government the money stolen together with an annual interest of 12 per cent from the date of the theft took place in 2017.
EACC, through its advocate Esther Githinji, filed the case on September 19 2019 seeking to recover the funds on behalf of Chebororwa ATC following the conclusion of investigations.
EACC, through its North Rift Regional Office in Eldoret, received a complaint on November 7, 2017, from the then County Secretary, in relation to the illegal withdrawal of funds from the Chebororwa ATC bank account held at KCB Bank Kapsowar.
It was alleged that about Sh11 Million belonging to Chebororwa ATC had been embezzled.
EACC established Chebororwa ATC as a public Agricultural Training Institution currently managed by the County Government of Uasin Gishu.
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Previously, the institution was managed by the National Government under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
Chebororwa ATC operates a Demonstration Farm Fund Account (DFF Account).
Demonstration Farm Fund is a fund established under the Exchequer Audit (Demonstration Farms Fund) Regulations 1990.
To generate income, Chebororwa ATC conducts commercial farming activities.
At the material time, Chebororwa ATC operated a Demonstration Farm Fund (DFF) Revenue Account at KCB Kapsowar Branch for operational purposes.
The account was managed by the District Treasury Accountant as a mandatory signatory and two signatories from Cheborwa ATC including the Principal.
At the time of the withdrawals, Nicholas Kirop Kaino had left the institution and was no longer the Principal. He was therefore prohibited from transacting in the Account.
Odera Mkangula, was the District Accountant of Marakwet West Sub-County.
He introduced himself to the Account on February 14 2017 and effected the withdrawals despite knowledge that the monies were supposed to be transferred to the County Government of Uasin Gishu following the devolution of Chebororwa ATC to the County.
After the withdrawals, in an effort to conceal the fraudulent payments, the account was closed pursuant to instructions of the District Accountant Marakwet West Sub-County.
The court ordered Kaino to pay a sum of Sh4,663,000 illegally withdrawn in his name and he and his wife to jointly pay a sum of Sh2,830,000 received by their company Rotkan Investments.
