Court remands suspect in theft of Sh138m for Kirinyaga e-learning project

The man accused of falsely linking Kirinyaga Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri to the theft of Sh138 million for e-learning has been remanded for seven days.

This will allow officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sufficient time to complete the investigations, Wang'uru Senior Resident Magistrate P.M. Mugure said on Friday.

The order followed an application by police inspector Godfrey Mburugu, who said they needed more time to question the suspect, Michael Mwachodzi Mwachofi, who had been on the run.

The inspector also told the court that he intends to charge Mr Mwachofi with giving false information, forgery and operating an unregistered non-governmental organisation.

Defence lawyer Ramadhan Abubakar opposed the application and urged the court to release his client on bond.

Mr Abubakar argued that Mr Mwachofi was not a flight risk so there was no good reason to keep him in police custody.

He also said the suspect was ready to adhere to conditions for his release.

THE ARREST

Mr Mwachofi was seized on Thursday evening along Garissa road in Thika and taken to Wang'uru Police Station for interrogation.

The arrest came after Mr Ndambiri asked police to arrest the suspect to shed light on the funds reportedly meant for a pilot e-learning project at Karoti Girls’ Secondary School.

The suspect claimed to have worked on the e-learning initiative with a non-governmental organisation known as Homeland Educational International.

The organisation is a subsidiary of DLAMS International that helps schools and students in low-income areas to use technology in improving their academic programmes.