What awaits NYS suspects on Tuesday

National Youth Service (NYS) Public Service and Youth Principal Secretary Lilian Omollo and the NYS Director General Richard Ndubai could face decades of jail time or millions of shillings in fines should they be found guilty in the charges they face.

Come Tuesday next week, the NYS suspects will have spent a week behind bars as they await determination of their bail applications. But a week is so negligible compared to the years they might be locked in, should they be found guilty of the economic crimes.

For instance, PS Lillian Omollo and NYS Director General Richard Ndubai face several charges including Conspiracy to commit an offence of economic crime.

In the ten files that involve ten companies that were paid a total of Ksh.468 million despite having not supplied any goods, Omollo and Ndubai face a count in each. According to the Anti-corruption and economic crimes Act, the penalty for such an offence is a maximum of Ksh.1 million fine or imprisonment for a maximum period of 10 years or both.

Each count carries one sentencing meaning total jail term can be a total of 100 years, though a Magistrate can rule that the jail terms run concurrently.

Another consistent charge against the two is abuse of office.

Omollo and Ndubai accused of improperly conferring benefit to the ten companies by authorising they be paid the millions they are alleged to have received.

Lillian Omollo faces 8 counts of the abuse of office, while Richard Ndubai has 22 counts. This based on the number of transactions that as the accounting officer of the NYS with authority to incur expenses, he is accused of having authorised different payments at different times.

Each count of abuse of office carries a maximum Ksh.1 million fine or 10 years in prison or both.

The two further face a charge of wilful failure to comply with applicable procedures and guidelines relating to management of public funds, that they allowed fraudulent payments to be made.

For this, the penalties are two – fold. Apart from the Ksh.1 million fine or ten years in prison, each count carries an extra sentence based on the public finance management act of Ksh.1 million  maximum fine or two years in prison, or both.

For those accused of receiving the millions unlawfully, their price will be higher.

Another suspect, Phyllis Njeri Ngirita, who in one of the charges is accused of receiving Ksh.50.9 million for supplying exactly nothing, would have to pay apart from the usual fine and imprisonment, a mandatory fine of double the amount that they benefitted with.

This means that should all the accused persons be found guilty, each of them shall pay double the amount they received to the government, alongside other penalties.