Court frees Principal, procurement officer, for lack of evidence

Court frees Principal, procurement officer, for lack of evidence.

A court has freed a former principal of Kagumo Teachers College (KTC) and a procurement officer accused of failing to comply with the law in procurement of assets worth millions.

In acquitting Joseph Mutugi and the procurement officer James Waweru, Nyeri Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo said there was no evidence to support the charges.

Each of the accused faced four counts of willful failure to comply with the Public Procurement and Disposal Act (PPDA) 2006.

Charge sheet

The charge sheet stated that on September 15, 2011, Mutugi being the secretary of tender committee and Wachira, authorised the purchase of a Toyota Shark directly from Shapla Motors without following the laid down procedures.

The two faced a second count of purchasing a Toyota Hiace from Shapla Motors and a third count of authorising the purchase of 6,000 chairs at Sh2.1 million from Mecol Limited.

They faced a fourth count stating that on January 9, 2012 they authorised the purchase of a Toyota Allion.

In her ruling, the magistrate noted that witnesses were reluctant to adduce evidence, and that the prosecution’s case faced technical challenges such as lack of a valuation or audit report.