Judge summons ex- National Social Security Fund manager

By JOHN MUTHONI    

KENYA: A former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Managing Trustee has been summoned to appear before a magistrate’s court over Sh1.6 billion shillings fraud case.

Rachel Lumbasyo is required to testify in a fraud case against seven NSSF officers facing fraud charges.

Nairobi Chief Magistrate Doreen Mulekyo, who issued the summons, is handling the case where seven NSSF employees are accused of fraudulently making payments of 1,601,576,461 to Discount Securities Limited.

The officers Francis Mutori, James Akoya, David Githaiga, Wilfred Munyoro, Isaac Nyamongo, and Mary Ndirangu are alleged to have jointly disposed NSSF shares purporting them to have been bought and delivered to the fund. The alleged offence was committed between August 24, 2004, and July 20, 2007.

Buy shares

Naftali Mogere, who was the pension fund’s managing trustee between 2002 and December 2005, told the court that they followed the law in identifying DSL as their actor in buying shares.

“According to the NSSF Act, we were allowed to act with stock brokers when buying shares from different places,” Mr Mogere said.

The former manager told the court that Discount Securities Limited had been approved by the board of trustees to broker purchase of the shares.  He said that the 1st accused, Mr Mutori, was not a member of the board thus would not have influenced the decision on the same.

Mr Mogere testified that the cheques that had been paid to the stock brokering institution had been authorised after the process of share purchase had been verified and scrutinised by relevant departments.