Governor accused of illegally supplying county with fuel

Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal received more than Sh300,000 from the county government for "supply of fuel" to the devolved unit, a witness told the anti-corruption court yesterday.

Mr Alex Kinyanjui, a digital forensic analyst with the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), told the court that the county boss received the money through his friend’s M-Pesa account. 

Mr Kinyanjui produced an M-Pesa statement as evidence that the governor received Sh339,900 from Mr Hesbon Jack Wachira Ndathi for the alleged fraudulent supply of fuel.

The expert tabled in court a forensic examination report showing how the money was wired to the governor between 2017 and 2018 via MPesa.

Mr Lenolkulal, Mr Ndathi and nine others are linked to an alleged Sh84 million fuel scandal in which Oryx Service Station is said to have been awarded a tender to supply the county government with petrol and diesel. 

The EACC alleges that the company is owned by Mr Lenolkulal and Mr Ndathi.

The M-Pesa forensic statement shows the money was wired in 14 different transactions by Mr Ndathi, the highest amount being Sh50,000 and the lowest Sh10,000.

The prosecution witness told trial magistrate Thomas Nzioki that the governor was at the time using an Apple Iphone X mobile phone. The prosecution sought to link the governor and the businessperson to the said scandal through the forensic report.

According to the witness, Governor Lenolkulal had saved the contact of Mr Ndathi as ‘Hotel Wachira spear’ in his Iphone’s phonebook.

"From the MPesa messages ranging from February 10, 2017 to February 8, 2019 from the governor's Apple Iphone, I discovered a sender by the name Hesbon Ndathi, who had been saved as 'Hotel Wachira spear' by the governor in his phone. He sent him (governor Lenolkulal) monies in 14 different transactions," Mr Kinyanjui told the court.

The witness added that he retrieved the data on the transactions following a request by the investigator in the case. 

The data was collected from the governor's Apple lphone, Samsung, Nokia and Infinix cellphones, as well as MacBook pro and HP laptops, tablets and a Fujitsu CP. Further data was reportedly obtained from mobile phones belonging to Mr Ndathi.

"I was requested by the investigator, Mr Joel Nyongesa, to analyse the extracted data for assets and financial information from the mobile phones, tablets and laptops from Governor Lenolkulal and Mr Ndathi, which were seized during the investigations," the witness said. 

The governor’s electronic gadgets were impounded by EACC detectives on February 20, 2019 during a raid at his homes.  

Mr Lenolkulal has since been barred from accessing his office until the conclusion of the criminal trial. 

Mr Kinyanjui testified that data from the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) indicated that the Samburu County government paid Sh73.1 million to Oryx Service Station.

The payments were made from August 22, 2014 to January 16, 2019 but the invoice indicated Sh76.4 million.

Mr Lenolkulal and Mr Ndathi, who are accused of unlawfully obtaining Sh84.6 million from the county government, suffered a setback after the trial magistrate declined to rule that the forensic report be declared inadmissible as evidence in the case.

The defence, led by Paul Nyamondi, had protested that the report had not been supplied to them. The magistrate ordered that the defence lawyers be furnished with the report and stood Mr Kinyanjui down from the witness box until June 3, 2022 to allow the defence time to peruse the forensic report.

The governor, the businessperson and nine others are accused of illegally obtaining money from the county administration between March 27, 2013 and March 25, 2019 in Maralal town.

The EACC told the court that the governor benefited from public funds through innumerable high-value tenders and contracts for the supply of fuel for the county government's motor vehicles. 

The tender was allegedly awarded by the county’s head of supply chain management.

According to the prosecution, the service station received Sh84.6 million from the county government and split it between the governor and Mr Ndathi.

The prosecution also alleges conflict of interest on the part of the governor.

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