Finland scholarships scandal: Sh400,000 from Fund was spent on furniture
Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago when he appeared before the Nakuru Law Courts on August 17, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Mr Joel Ruto, the former Director of the Uasin Gishu County Education Revolving Fund, confirmed in court that the money was part of the fund paid by parents to facilitate their children’s education abroad.
- Mr Ruto testified before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege, revealing that Sh400,000 was used to purchase furniture while Sh120,000 was allocated for trustees' allowances.
The Uasin Gishu county government spent Sh400,000 from the controversial Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Scholarship Fund to purchase furniture.
A witness in the Sh1.1 billion misappropriation case against Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago and two others testified that a total of Sh520,000 was used for administrative purposes.
The money was withdrawn from KCB’s Uasin Gishu Overseas Education Trust Account.
Mr Joel Ruto, the former Director of the Uasin Gishu County Education Revolving Fund, confirmed in court that the money was part of the fund paid by parents to facilitate their children’s education abroad.
Mr Ruto testified before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ndege, revealing that Sh400,000 was used to purchase furniture while Sh120,000 was allocated for trustees' allowances.
“I am the one who requested the money to buy furniture for storage of important documents relating to the programme,” Mr Ruto said noting that the funds deposited by parents were used for administration and trustee allowances due to a lack of separate funding.
Senator Mandago alongside county officials Joshua Lelei and Meshack Rono have been charged with stealing Sh1.1 billion intended for the Overseas Education Scholarship Program and abuse of office.
According to Mr Ruto, on October 3, 2022, Sh120,000 was withdrawn to cover allowances for six trustees who met in Eldoret, receiving between Sh6,000 and Sh36,000 each.
“I paid the six trustees between Sh8,000 and Sh36,000 each as transport allowance. Dr Joel Chelule, the chair of the trustees, received the highest amount,” Mr Ruto told the court explaining the fund's objective to provide scholarships to students from poor backgrounds and the committee’s role in identifying needy cases.
He also recounted a trip with Mandago and other officials to Finland to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the program. But problems arose when some parents failed to pay the required fees, forcing the trust to divert funds to cover the first batch of students at Tampere University who were at risk of being sent home.
“Not all parents had paid for their children’s fees, leaving the county government no option but to divert other students’ money to prevent some of the students in the first batch from being dismissed from the university,” Mr Ruto testified.
He said the county government is pursuing a case in Eldoret against 286 parents who owe the fund.
The hearing continues on Tuesday.
