Two former Isiolo county Chief Officers arrested over 163million tender scam
Two former Chief Officers for the Isiolo county government have been arrested and arraigned
The duo have been released on a Sh1million cash bail and bond of a similar amount after they were arrested and arraigned for engaging in a multi-million tender fraud to supply services that were not rendered.
The two, Giro Liban and Kenneth Turibu Maorwe were arrested following investigations conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which linked them to allegations of an irregular payment worth Sh163.4million to various suppliers.
The two suspects are said to have contracted Dabasiti Contractors and Suppliers Limited to supply food items and car hire services.
Despite not having a procurement plan and a budget, the county government continued with the tender; a process which raised questions.
Further, an audit carried out by the Auditor General and the Pending Bills Verification Task Force Committee (PBVC) established that the Ksh.163.4 million payment was classified as a pending bill. EACC revealed that the county government had managed to settle the bills.
After linking the tender fraud to the former officials, EACC arrested the duo on Tuesday and taken to its Upper Eastern Regional Offices in Isiolo.
The suspects were arraigned before Chief Magistrate Lucy Mutai and pleaded not guilty to eight counts of willful failure to comply with procurement laws and four counts of abuse of office.
The case will be mentioned on December 23, 2024, ahead of the hearing on February 26, 2025.
