By Alex Kiprotich

Trouble is brewing at the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission over allegations of corruption. Staff that have raised the matter are said to be intimidated and so far three of them have been relieved of their duties in unclear circumstances after they were suspected to have leaked information over suspect deals at the commission.

Sources at the commission reveal that after information leaked to the media showing falsification of mileage by drivers in cahoots with some commissioners and officers, the commission embarked on unearthing the person responsible.

"When the story was run in The Standard, the commission grilled staff to establish who leaked the information instead of tackling the issue of corruption. We need the anti-graft body to audit the commission and some of us are willing to testify as long as we are not intimidated like our other colleagues who have left," said the source.

The commission set up an ad hoc committee to look into the issue and five employees were grilled and three of them singled out of the group.

"One of the employees’ contract was not renewed, another one was sacked while the third one was redeployed to another ministry," said the source.

Acting chair Tecla Namachanja, in a confidential letter in our possession, congratulates the staff who were able to track those responsible for leaking the information.

"…thanks to the marvel of technology we have managed to know those behind this," the letter reads.

"This clearly beats logic because instead of the commission investigating claims of corruption, they turned on who the whistle blower is and ended up punishing innocent staff," said a staffer.

Individuals’ decision

However, reached for comment TJRC CEO Patricia Nyaundi said: "The commission was concerned more about the information that was leaked than the persons responsible for the leak and this was the nature of the investigation. I can confirm that to date it has not been possible to identify the persons responsible for communicating the wrong information to the media and therefore no action has been taken in this regard.

"Concerning the individuals who have recently left the commission these include two drivers and an accountant. All three have repeatedly communicated that they are dissatisfied with the work environment, including salaries and allowances. One of the drivers did not meet the expectations of the Commissioner that he was assigned to in terms of work performance.

Having repeatedly communicated their discomfort/displeasure at working at the commission we deemed it fit that we do not extend their contracts."

Documents show that the commission could have lost money through a cartel of corrupt employees by falsifying mileage claims, exaggerated fuel consumption and open theft where drivers and officers collude to fill up false work tickets without covering any mileage.

One officer’s work ticket includes places not indicated in the master programme and which were never visited during the tour of the commission of North Eastern Province, the Standard on Sunday has established.

The places include Garissa-Holla, Garissa-Mbalambala, Garissa-Sankur, Garissa-Danyere, Garissa-Kola and Hulugho, with an alleged distance of 2,110km covered.

The source, which is obviously familiar with the commission’s operations, claimed that by filling out the non-existent journey, the commission lost a huge sum of money.

"To cover these distances, the car is purported to have consumed 544.4 litres of fuel and the commission lost money. This is just a tip of the iceberg and if you are to go through all the work tickets of the commission you will be amazed by the blatant corruption taking place, which in the long run will hit millions of shillings," said the source.

And it is not only the falsification of mileages and drawing of fuel for non-existent journeys that is bedevilling the commission. The commission is also fighting off alleged attempts to swindle the commission Sh6.4million to an account alleged for payment of services rendered by transferring the cash twice in two days through different branches of a bank in which the commission operates.

Whistle blower

After a whistle blower brought the matter to the attention of the acting chairperson, the money was reimbursed but only after two months.

"When we raised the matter, the Director of Administration and Finance was summoned by the acting chair who acknowledged the error but why it took two months to wire back the money is anyone’s guess," said the source.

But Nyaundi says the transfer was inaccurate and it was corrected once the anomaly was detected.

"This information is inaccurate. The transfer was erroneous. We detected it and the money was returned. The circumstances leading to the erroneous transfer were that a wrong account was given to the recipient bank. At the same time we wrote to the bank correcting the error in a subsequent letter. Once the error was detected we communicated to our bankers and they ensured we were credited with the amount. Bank statements are available for verification," she told the Standard on Sunday.

In an earlier interview, Nyaundi rubbished the accusations as the work of a cartel working to bring down the commission.

"Why couldn’t this individual raise the issue with the commission if he is genuine? Is this not a wider plot to sabotage the commission by portraying it as condoning corruption?" she asked.

Nyaundi said some of the cars whose mileages were in question were used in northern Kenya to collect and return witnesses to their homes from various parts of the region where public transport is erratic.