“I am satisfied the EACC has made a prima facie case to warrant the issuance of the orders for the conservation of Sh45,134,937 held in account at Paramount bank,” she found/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 17 – The newly established Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court on Thursday froze the bank account of a company which the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission suspects may have irregularly been paid Sh45 million from the National Youth Service.
When granting the orders, Judge Hedwig Ong’udi however made clear that while she granted the order in an effort to maintain the status-quo pending a full hearing of the application, she would not entertain inordinate delays on the part of the applicants that would infringe on the rights of Blue Star Enterprises to access their funds.
“I am satisfied the EACC has made a prima facie case to warrant the issuance of the orders for the conservation of Sh45,134,937 held in account at Paramount bank,” she found.
According to the EACC, the account held Sh2,000 before the Sh45 million injection.
The Sh45 million, the EACC argued, was irregularly paid out to Blue Star Enterprises with the sanction of former NYS AIE (Authority to Incur Expenditure) holder Adan Harakhe who is in turn facing an abuse of office charge for the payment.
He however successfully managed to hold off the charge when Ong’udi granted his prayer for orders blocking his arrest and prosecution over the matter until his challenge is heard and determined.
Harakhe and former Ministry of Devolution and Planning tender committee Chairman Hassan Noor contend that the abuse of office charges the authorities intend to prefer against them are part of a “witch-hunt” to quell public outrage over the loss of billions at the NYS and so an attempt to “nail them by any means necessary.”
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