DPP okays Sholleis prosecution over alleged financial impropriety

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has approved prosecution of former Judiciary Chief Registrar Gladys Shollei and seven others over alleged irregular payment of 46 million shillings for construction of Mavoko Law Courts.

In a statement, Tobiko agreed with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that there is enough evidence to charge her alongside her former deputy Kakai Kissinger and six other Judiciary tender committee members including Supply Chain Director Martin Otieno Okwata and Finance boss Benedict Abonyo Omollo for misappropriation of public funds.

Shollei and seven others are accused of paying Timsales LTD the said amount, but there was no work done.

Others charged alongside Shollei, Kissinger, Otieno, and Obonyo are Martin Otieno Okwata, who was in charge of supplies, Nicholas Muturi Okemwa, formerly the legal officer, Nicholas Mbeba, who was in charge of transport, and Thomas Oloo Atak, an IT expert.

They will be charged with various offences including abuse of office and willful failure to comply with the law.

But former acting Director of Immigration Jane Waikenda, is now off the hook. Waikenda, who was accused of abuse of office and corruption, has now been vindicated by the DPP, who says there is no sufficient evidence to warrant her prosecution as recommended by the EACC.

Waikenda was among senior government officials relieved of their duties during the corruption purge in March this year.

She was Kenya’s Deputy Head of Mission in South Africa. It will be interesting to know whether she will find her way to government now that she has been cleared of graft allegations

In a similar scenario, former acting Managing Trustee of the National Social Security Fund Richard Lagat, who has since lost his job in the government corruption shake up, has been cleared of any wrong doing by the DPP.

Lagat, who had been accused of mishandling a 5 billion shillings Tassia Two Housing Scheme, will not face prosecution after the DPP found that he (Lagat) had not acted irregularly in the project.

Machakos County Secretary Francis Mwaka and three other officials were not as lucky as they will be prosecuted for irregularly awarding Stepal Builders Company a contract to renovate and refurbish county executive committee members’ offices.