Senior Transport Ministry Procurement officer Kinyae’s assets worth Sh62million frozen in graft probe
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has secured court orders to freeze assets worth over Sh62million belonging to a flamboyant senior Ministry of Transport Procurement officer David Kinyae Isika.
Kinyae is alleged to have amassed wealth believed to be proceeds of economic crime of over Sh180 million in an unexplainable manner over the last eight years.
He is a Senior Deputy Director at the Supply Chain Management Department at the Ministry of Transport domiciled at Cianda House along Koinange Street within the Nairobi Central Business District.
Investigations by Eacc sleuths have linked Kinyae and his son Bruce Isika Kinyae as beneficiaries of economic crimes and companies owned by his family including his wife Eunice Wangari and his son Bruce Isika Kinyae.
Kinaye is also said to have close links with top politicians and is alleged to have financed their campaigns.
High Court Judge Esther Maina granted EACC orders to freeze the assets after a protracted probe which is part of the Sh350million tender irregularities Kinyae is believed to have masterminded and used his position at the ministry to confer himself procurement opportunities in tenders awarded to his family companies and through his proxies.
The matter will be mentioned on January 25, 2023.
Kinyae allegedly awarded tenders to firms linked to him which include; Wanga-Tech General Enterprises, Davinka Supplies and General Merchants Kola Traders Limited, Stalwart Entertainment Limited, Nissy Liquor Wines and Spirits Limited and Brycen Innovations.
The Informer has since established that Wanga-Tech General Enterprises Limited received contracts worth Sh75,877,074.35, Davinka Suppliers and General Merchants Limited received Sh102,175,003 and Bruce Isika Kinyae T/A Brycen Smart Innovations earned Sh55,434,690.
Investigations show Kinyae was listed as a director and shareholder in Davinka Suppliers until April 21, 2021 alongside his nephew, Urbanus Kioko Mbithi and close allies Stanley Musembi and Peter Wambugu.
“Records obtained from Registrar of Companies show that during the period under investigations, David Kinyae was a director of M/s Davinka Suppliers & General Merchants Limited while his wife Eunice Wangari and his son Bruce Isika Kinyae were the directors of M/s Wanga- Tech General Enterprises Limited and Brycen Smart Innovations respectively,” Eacc noted.
To cover his possible trail, Kinyae moved his shares/directorship as well as signed mandates in order to conceal his ownership of Davinka Suppliers and General Merchants Ltd.
According to the anti-graft body, more than Sh77.4million passed through Kinyae’s bank accounts between 2014 and April this year despite him earning a cumulative salary of Sh8.3 million over the seven years.
Additionally, the anti-graft body says information obtained from Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) indicated that one of the companies linked to him, Wanga-Tech General Enterprises, was awarded multiple tenders by the ministry.
Other beneficiaries of the contracts were Davinka Supplies (Sh127.8 million), Kola Traders (Sh33.9 million) and Brycen Smart Innovations which received Sh68.5 million.
The biggest chunk of the money was paid to companies associated with the official and his proxies from the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The commission averred that its investigations revealed that Kinyae willfully violated procurement laws by failing to convene Inspection and Acceptance Committee meetings.
The assets include six parcels of land worth Ksh.26.3 million 6 motor vehicles worth Sh29.6million, cash deposits worth Sh4.9million in a bank account of a company associated with him.
During a search raid at his residence, Eacc sleuths recovered Sh1.5 million in cash.
The parcels of land are in Njoro/Ngata Block 2 in Nakuru County, Kajiado/Kaptei North with three parcels, Kitengela in Kajiado County and Kinyaata/Syokisinga in Machakos County.
The six motor vehicles are high-end vehicles including a semi-trailer.
EACC is investigating Isika and his family for the period between January 2014 and June 2021, during which Isika’s total earnings were Sh5.9 million for seven years, and five months.
EACC says that Isika, his wife and son are also under investigation on how they acquired over Sh233 million paid to companies owned by their family from different government ministries. EACC says, “Investigations established a scheme to conceal the unexplained assets through family members, business fronts and corporate entities.”
The commission cites Isika for using his position as a senior supply chain management officer to influence the award of tenders to companies associated with him without declaring a conflict of interest.
