Waiguru links Nelson Githinji to theft of Ksh791M at the NYS

Former Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru has linked former Director General of National Youth Service (NYS) Nelson Githinji to the loss of Ksh791M at the Devolution Ministry.

In her submission before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, Waiguru said that despite having been removed as the AIE holder, Githinji maintained access to the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and was able to manipulate the numbers.

She refuted claims by Githinji that he was not in control saying all her official correspondents were to him as the Director General.

“Githinji’s pronouncement that he was not in control at the NYS, and claims that he is innocent of the theft of NYS money are false.”

“In fact, Githinji still maintained access to IFMIS system after he was removed from being AIE holder, a time during which the Ksh791 million was lost.”

She moved to discredit Githinji saying the fact that he is currently in court forging documents during his tenure as DG at the NYS, points at an individual whose credibility should be put into question.

Waiguru moved to absolve former Deputy Director General Aden Harakhe of any wrongdoing in the loss of NYS money, saying during his tenure, the cost of executive projects was placed at a minimum, lower than during Githinji’s time.

Githinji, in his submissions in October, claimed that Waiguru’s companies had benefitted from the NYS billions and accused her of malpractice, allegations that she has vehemently denied.

In a session last month, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) claimed that the figure of the amount lost at the NYS is Ksh1.8 billion and not Ksh791 million as had been previously reported.

PAC has established that of the Ksh1.8 billion that was lost, Ksh1.67 billion went to businesses owned by Josephine Kabura, a key witness in the NYS scandal, through what has been described as fraudulent transactions.

Kabura appeared before the committee on Tuesday to explain her dealings with NYS and why he is adversely mentioned in the dealings at the Ministry of Devolution.

The 35-year-old businesswoman said she owned 20 companies, all of which got NYS tenders with the help of Waiguru.

She claimed that the reason for opening many businesses was to increase her chances of landing tenders at the NYS, saying her role was to supply materials to the NYS.

The former CS has however denied knowing Kabura saying she has never met and talked to her.

“If it is true that Kabura and I were friends even before I became Cabinet Secretary there should be correspondents to prove the same. There should be calls or texts that we exchanged, how come such do not exist?” she questioned.

Waiguru also moved to poke holes into Gethi’s testimony, linking her to the NYS theft, saying allegations that she fixed him were baseless.

“Ben Gethi, is facing six charges from 4 different agencies and is linked to the attempts to defraud NYS Ksh826 million. He is also linked to the loss of Ksh791 million at the NYS and also faces money laundering and tax evasion cases. He also has a case, filed by IEBC, for delivering electronic equipment that malfunctioned during the 2013 General Election.

“The fact that he could not explain the coincidence in the millions that he deposited into his account and those withdrawn from Kabura’s accounts put him as a key suspect in this investigation.”

The former CS maintained innocence on the NYS scandal brought against her calling on the committee to establish facts and not rely on allegations.

“Allegations have been brought forward by several witnesses, unfortunate that Kenyans have been treated to an unimaginable drama on the case of NYS for purposes of sensationalizing the matter. The committee should establish the fact and not propaganda,” stated Waiguru.