Officer: Firm was paid for fake ads

A witness yesterday told a court that an advertising body violated its guidelines when it used his recommendation letter to support several payment vouchers.

Kennedy Buhere, a communication officer at the Education ministry, was testifying in a case where 19 people and seven companies have been charged in a Sh2.5 billion scandal at the Government Advertising Agency (GAA).

Mr Buhere told Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi that he was summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on October 18 last year and shown the letter dated May 16, 2016 and addressed to the GAA director of public communication.

“I concurred that I had written the letter, which was attached to a payment voucher for Sh5,215,517 to Sunday Publishers Ltd,” said Buhere.

The letter introduced Sunday Publishers to the GAA and recommended that the firm be considered when the ministry needed to run any advertisements.

The witness said he was surprised to see that the letter had been photocopied and attached to other payment vouchers.

“Payment voucher number 1106 of Sh10.5 million to Sunday Publishers that was attached to the letter had not originated from me,” said Buhere.

He noted that two other vouchers for Sh7.9 million and Sh350,000 had also been attached. “I wish to state here that what was actually attached as adverts were more stories for which no payment is ever done. So my finding was this was fraud.”

Buhere told the court that before the GAA took over the role of placing Government advertisements, they would normally be placed in the mainstream dailies.

Things changed when the Government issued a circular in 2015 mandating ministries and departments to place all adverts through the agency.

“The GAA in their daily interactions with media houses would follow certain guidelines. One of the requirements was to ensure equity in print media advertisement buying,” said Buhere.

Some of the 19 accused persons are former ICT Principal Secretary Sammy Itemere, Lugari MP Ayub Savula as well as his two wives, Gatwiri Ringera and Hellen Kemboi.

They are accused that being public officers in the ICT ministry, they stole Sh122, 335,500 from the GAA using seven companies.

The MP and former GAA director Denis Kuko Chebitwey were also separately charged with abuse of office.

All the suspects pleaded not guilty before being freed on bond.

Savula and his wives were freed on a bond of Sh1 million or cash bail of Sh500,000 each.

The MP, who took plea on his behalf as well as on the behalf of his seven companies, was required to pay an additional Sh500,000 for each of the firms.

The former PS and the 15 other co-accused were released on a bond of Sh2 million or cash bail of Sh1 million each.