Ex-Tourism PS found guilty of abuse of office

A High Court sitting in Nairobi has upheld the abuse of office charges against former Tourism Permanent Secretary Rebbeca Nabutola and former Kenya Tourism Board Managing Director Achieng Ong’ong’a.

The two had moved to the High Court to challenge the guilty verdict passed on them by a lower court for defrauding the Tourism Board of 8.9 million shillings in 2009.

Nabutola had been sentenced to four years in jail while Ong’ong’a was sentenced to three years in jail.

High Court Judge Ngenye Macharia, however, fined them 500,000 shillings each to secure their freedom.

The case involved investigations into the illegal payments of money into Duncan Muriuki’s company that coordinated a visit to the Masaai Mara trip by former President Mwai Kibaki and other top officials.

The duo were charged in May 2009 following recommendations by the then Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission now the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).