NYS case: How suspect John Kago bought Sh23 million Range Rover

A sales executive testifying in the Sh791 million National Youth Service (NYS) case yesterday revealed how a Range Rover was bought for Sh23 million in 2015.

The vehicle was bought by John Kago, a prime suspect in the NYS scandal.

James Oduor, who was being cross-examined by defence lawyer James Wagala, said on January 17, 2015, while on duty at RMA Motors, he was approached by two people who wanted to purchase a black Range Rover.

The two, a man and a woman, told Mr Oduor that they wanted a vehicle with a 5,000cc engine capacity.

"The man who introduced himself as Ben did all the talking; the woman never uttered a word," said the witness.

Mr Oduor, who is the first witness in the case, said he told Ben that they had a 3,000cc black Range Rover, not the 5,000cc capacity he was looking for.

He said he produced a brochure for the available Range Rover and showed him that it had enough power to drive around.

After showing them the brochure, he added, Ben made a phone call and said the person he was calling was the one to make the decision.

Oduor added that after a short while, another man appeared and was introduced as John Kago.

"After the introduction, Ben told me that from then on, I would deal with Mr Kago," said Oduor.

The witness said he told Kago that the car was in a bonded warehouse at the Acceler Logistics cargo centre at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

He added that Kago requested to see the vehicle but they could not visit the warehouse because it was a Saturday. They agreed to go on January 19, 2015.

"I picked him at around 10am and we went to the warehouse where I showed him the vehicle," said Oduor.

Oduor told the court that Kago asked if he could take photos of the Range Rover using his phone to send to Ben via WhatsApp.

"Kago asked about the procedure of paying the Sh23,480,000... and he signed the contract," said Oduor.

The next day, he brought a Family Bank slip of Sh10 million as deposit and the registration documents were signed.

On January 27, 2015, the balance was paid directly to their company accounts at Standard Chartered Bank.

A second witness, Wilfred Sang, did not show up yesterday.

Eight witnesses are expected to testify in the case.

The matter continues Wednesday.