NYS scandal: Why Jubilee kept Raila in the dark

The private investigator probing the looting at the National Youth Service (NYS) has fled Kenya as fresh details emerge how Jubilee government feared Raila Odinga getting whiff of  the scandal, The Nairobian can reveal.

The private eye who will remain anonymous for security reasons was hired by frustrated suppliers over non-payment of goods and services rendered to NYS.

An insider in government who got wind of the scandal before it broke told The Nairobian that the scam could never have been discovered were it not for the arrogance of Youth Affairs PS Lilian Mbogo-Omollo. Had she compensated an angry whistle blower demanding a handsome reward for the expose, the scandal would have remained under lock and key.

The senior government official, who pegged the looted public money at Sh3 billion and not Sh9 billion, explained that the scam was eventually leaked by one of the two angry informers who thought that under the Witness Protection Act, he was entitled to a cash reward for exposing corruption.

“He thought the former AG Githu Muigai had proposed that a person who reports corruption should be get at least 10 per cent of the value of any property recovered,” the senior civil servant.

The private investigator who has fled the country has dual Kenyan and US citizenship, and was hired late last year with a brief to list suppliers being paid at the expense of the rest as “they needed hard evidence to present to President Uhuru.”

At the time, panic gripped top government officials who worked around the clock to ensure  the document detailing the looting did not land into the hands of NASA leader Raila Odinga who had refused to accept Uhuru Kenyatta as President and instead organised his own swearing-in on January 30.

The investigator had mined substantive info showing how hundreds of millions of shillings were frequently being paid to one influential tender-preneur enjoying unfettered access at NYS headquarters, the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, and some banks.

 The investigator with the help of a mole at NYS headquarters obtained a trail copy of Integrated Financial Information System (IFMIS) payments.

As the private probe went on, the two informers, a political activist and a supplier, approached the aforementioned government official in mid-December armed with the IFMIS dossier.

He was initially reluctant, doubting the motive of the two haggard looking gentlemen sitting in his office, but nevertheless retained the IFMIS copy, which turned out to be genuine after he went to the Treasury for verification.

“After they conducted a run check, my doubts were cleared, it was authentic. How they came into contact with a genuine copy still puzzles me,” the government insider told The Nairobian, adding, “we were worried that should Raila get the information, he would use it to discredit the government in his attempt to convince his followers and the international community that his victory was stolen.”

Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua handed over the document to National Intelligence Service director Major General Philip Kameru who commenced investigations into the suspicious payments.

Pressure was mounted on Ndubai and Omollo to find money for the unpaid suppliers fearing they would spill the beans if the matter remained unresolved.

The official who describes Ndubai as “rational” and Omollo as “arrogant” claims that had Omollo been cooperative and paid the aggrieved parties she would not be seeking bail from the courts. 

But fearing for his life after the scandal was lifted and powerful individuals in the looting gravy train wanted him to go slow on the matter, the investigator fled in January.

Three months later, the determined suppliers approached another private eye who refused to speak to The Nairobian, saying: “I will not discuss this matter, go back to those who gave you the information. My efforts were never appreciated.”

Those arrested and remanded over the scam are NYS director Richard Ndubai, Youth and Gender Affairs PS Omollo, former acting NYS deputy director Sammy Muchuki, senior deputy director Nicholas Ahere and acting finance director Wellington Lubira.

Company directors and proprietors include Anne Ngirita, Jeremiah Ngirita, Lucy Ngirita, Andrine Nyambura, Catherine Kamuyu, Serah Muguru, Samwel Kanai, James Katululu, Phyllis Njeri, Catherine Mwai, Antony Wamiti, James Thuita and Yvonne Thuita.