MP to be charged with misusing Sh137m CDF money in sugar deal

Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka is set to be charged with misappropriation of constituency funds. PHOTO | FILE

By  NATION CORRESPONDENT

What you need to know:

  • It is alleged that the sugar was to be distributed to IDPs in his constituency in 2009.
  • The DPP recommended the prosecution of Mr Onyonka following investigations by the EACC.
  • Last year, Ms Keino said her team had received over 200 cases involving misuse of funds.

Kitutu Chache South MP Richard Onyonka is set to be charged with misappropriation of constituency funds.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko last week released a file in which Mr Onyonka is to be charged with using some Sh137 million CDF cash to buy sugar.

It is alleged that the sugar was to be distributed to IDPs in his constituency in 2009.

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Through the purchase, Mr Onyonka is also said to have withheld Sh18 million VAT.

ALLEGATIONS ARE FALSE

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission vice-chairperson Irene Keino confirmed that the lawmaker would be prosecuted.

But the MP denied the accusations, saying he never bought sugar for his constituents.

“The allegations are false as there is no way I could have used the money to buy sugar. The CDF kitty is purely for development and not business,” he told the Nation by phone.

Instead, he accused unscrupulous businessmen of using a letter he wrote to Chemelil Sugar Company requesting to buy the commodity for his constituents who were displaced by the clashes of 2007/2008.

He acknowledge that he wrote the letter but denied buying the sugar, saying the company refused and requested that he get a letter from the Office of the President.

“The whole thing ended at that. I never bought the said sugar but it seems some people used the same letter to do their own business,” he claimed.

The DPP recommended the prosecution of Mr Onyonka following investigations by the EACC.

“If the DPP feels that he has evidence, then let’s meet in court. I will tell my side of the story and he tells his and hope the case will be fair,” he added.

The anti-corruption agency has been investigating 10th Parliament MPs over widespread allegations that their CDF committees engaged in malpractices that allowed the siphoning of money set aside for development projects.

Last year, Ms Keino said her team had received over 200 cases involving misuse of funds.

Last year, Ms Keino said her team would recommend that those found to have plundered public money be prosecuted, and that no one would be spared.

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