Revealed: Suspects paid using fake NYS vouchers

[Photo: Courtesy]

Ten companies irregularly awarded multi-million shillings contracts at the National Youth Service (NYS) were paid using forged vouchers, it has emerged.

Witness statements supplied to lawyers of the 43 people accused of defrauding Sh468 million from NYS also show the money was paid to companies not listed in the tender.

Signatures were also forged to authorise payments. This came as the court declined to review the suspects’ bond terms. Wesley Nyariki, a senior superintendent architect at Public Works said payment vouchers to some of the firms were fake and did not bear genuine signatories.

“The companies were not listed in the areas they were awarded the contracts. The circulars awarding them the contract were not genuine. Even the signature on the fake circular is not mine. I don’t know how it was forged,” said Nyariki in his statement.

He noted several discrepancies in the contracts awarded to Jerrycathy Enterprises, Firstling Supplies, Ngiwaco Enterprises, Kunjiwa Enterprises, Kalabash Limited, Ersatz Limited, Njewangu Enterprises, Ameri Limited and Annwaw Limited.

Directors of these companies are among those charged with conspiracy to defraud and fraudulent acquisition of public funds.

Another witness Sebastian Mokua said in his statement that he never dealt with any of the firms listed to have been paid for supplying equipment to NYS.

“I wish to state that some of the contracts did not proceed from the adjudication of the awards and the circular authorising their payments seems not to be genuine,” said Mokua, the head of supply chain unit at the department of devolution in the Ministry of Youth and Gender.

Julius Kiplgat Kandie, the head of administration at the ministry of Lands, said he never attended any meeting to approve the payments yet his name appears as one of the people who sat in a ministerial tender committee that allowed the tenders.