NAIROBI, Kenya May 19 – Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru will testify as a prosecution witness against former Devolution & Planning Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti and former National Youth Service (NYS) boss Nelson Githinji over fraudulent payment of Sh791 million.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution said Waiguru was set to testify Wednesday, dealing a blow to Mangiti and Githinji who are facing multiple corruption-related charges.
Mangiti worked under Waiguru when hundreds of millions were paid to suppliers, many of them fraudulently.
Suppliers and officials from the NYS procurement department and at the ministry are among suspects facing charges in court.
This was the first scandal to hit NYS in 2015, when Waiguru was serving as Devolution Cabinet Secretary.
At the time, several leaders, among them Deputy President William Ruto called for her prosecution, saying she was “cat-walking and speaking a lot of English yet Kenyans have lost millions.”
Opposition chief Raila Odinga too called for her prosecution.
She eventually resigned but no charges were preferred against and she was cleared to vie for the governor’s post in Kirinyaga in the 2017 elections.
Several other suspects are still in court facing several charges among them money laundering.
