SUMMARY
- Probe reveals a bitter fight by powerful factions for the control of NYS that led to a key official moved to another ministry to pave way for looting
- Amount of money that could have been stolen at the NYS still unclear even as PS Lilian Omollo struggled to convince MPs that none had been lost
Nairobi, Kenya: They say avarice and power are joined in the hip; and so it is with the National Youth Service Scandal, as we found out.
Our investigation shows that close relatives of powerful politicians are among faceless individuals whose companies received billions of shillings in questionable payments from the besieged NYS.
In several cases, we have established that the wife of a vocal MP from Kiambu and close kin of two powerful Jubilee politicians in government were beneficiaries.
Other companies suspected to have had links to powerful politicians that did business with NYS include five firms (names in our possession) which received some of the biggest payments.
It is still unclear what the money was used for but we have established it was being paid on the command of senior individuals at the Youth Ministry.
And as this was happening, suppliers who had pending bills, including one who supplied containers for Beyond Zero clinics for the slums in 2014, were pushed to the periphery.
Everything was smooth until a senior official at the NYS was transferred early this year due to a contract expiry. Some powerful quarters in government, according to telephone recordings listened to by Saturday Standard, were vouching for the official — who has since been moved to another ministry — to take over from NYS Director Richard Ndubai, who has since stepped aside.
Clashing interests
Their interests, however, clashed with other quarters in government who wanted the official to leave as he was a stumbling block to some of their plans. It is this war of interests that broke the camel’s back, making one party to spill the beans.
By yesterday, the amount of money that may have been stolen at NYS was still unclear, as Principal Secretary Lilian Omollo struggled to convince MPs that the Sh9 billion in the media focus had not been lost.
“The amounts under investigation are best presented by the investigative agencies,” she said.
“We are in a country where the public can lynch you based on what they hear. It is unfortunate that that is how people in the country are,” she said.
By Vincent Achuka
