MPs want Youth Fund boss Bruce Odhiambo charged with fraud

Members of Parliament now want suspended Youth Fund Chair Bruce Odhiambo and Chief Executive Officer Catherine Namuye prosecuted for the loss of Ksh 180 million at the fund.

In its report filed in Parliament Wednesday, the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee accuses the two of conspiring with Muriuki Ngamau, the Managing Director of a consultancy firm Quorandum limited to steal from the public.

The committee wants Bruce Odhiambo investigated, charged and prosecuted for five offences among them conspiring to defraud the Youth Fund of 180 million shillings, a ploy allegedly orchestrated in conjunction with Namuye and Quorandum Limited and its CEO Muriuki Ngamau.

The MPs want Bruce Odhiambo to pay back 3.3 million shillings he received from Quorandum and a further Ksh 1.03 million, this includes 806,000 shillings that was spent to fuel a 12.6 million shilling Prado, that he instructed the fund’s management to buy for him illegally, and another 228,000 shillings now required to have the car repaired.

PIC has recommended further investigations against Namuye under whose watch the car was bought.

Namuye is accused of having entered into a fictitious contract with Muriuki to draw an ICT strategy for the fund. During the probe, however, she claimed she fund’s board forced her to enter into the deal against her wish. The report has, however, implicated her for breaking procurement laws and wants her to face charges against eight offences among them failing to report the alleged illegal activities of the board.

The MPs want the assets recovery agency to obtain an injunction against transfer of a 48.5 million shillings house bought by Ngamau in the posh Lavington neighbourhood in Nairobi.

The report has also recommended recovery of money paid to individuals and companies listed as Quorandum’s supplies among them Yogesh Kumar Badwarj, who received Ksh 880,000, Dishad Mohammed, who was paid 2.2 million shillings, and the directors and local representatives of another company industries D’ Amico LTD which was paid 10.2 million shillings.

The MPs failed to trace much of the Ksh 190 million and believed it’s is still in Ngamau’s hands.

The National Assembly is expected to debate the report and if adopted various anti-fraud agencies are set to institute recovery and prosecution of the culprits.