Over 20 NYS suspects arraigned in court

Over twenty suspects arrested on Monday over the Sh9 billion National Youth Service (NYS) corruption scandal have been arraigned in Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi.

Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi is expected to preside over the case.

Youth Affairs Principal Secretary Lilian Mbugua Omollo and NYS Director-General Richard Ndubai were brought to court from the various police stations in Nairobi where they had spent the night.

The suspects who are facing abuse of office and conspiracy to commit corruption charges arrived in three Land Rovers and five Subarus.

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji had said he has enough evidence to nail the 54 suspects set over the Sh9 billion NYS scandal.

According to Haji, his office has sealed all the loopholes that have led to the collapse of previous corruption cases in which several individuals accused of stealing billions in taxpayers’ money get acquitted for lack of evidence.

“We have sealed the loopholes to ensure it doesn’t happen again. The evidence is overwhelming in this case. We will prove to the court that no procurement took place, no goods were supplied and there was no documentation of how the money was paid out,” said Mr Haji.

On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed to deal ‘firmly and decisively’ with all unethical people caught in the web of corruption.

The President, reiterating his anti-graft message, said all Kenyans entrusted with responsibility must be ethical and ready to serve with a high sense of morality.

“We are not going to tolerate unethical people. People with responsibility must be ready to serve and not to be served”, said the Head of State.