NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 1 – A former finance manager at the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), James Ambuso as been jailed for 24 years for soliciting and receiving bribes totaling Sh910, 000 ten years ago.
While delivering the sentence, Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Senior Principal Magistrate Eunice Nyutu gave him an option of paying an alternative fine of Sh7.6 million.
Nyutu stated that he had a duty to protect public resources but did the opposite.
“The accused was a public officer when he committed the offence. He had a duty to safeguard public resources, but he did the opposite and used the resources to benefit himself. Such actions are to be frowned up and I want to send a strong message to public officers that the use of public recourses for personal enrichment shall not be tolerated,” she said.
Ambuso had been charged with corruptly solicitating Sh445,000 from Geoffrey Mworia to facilitate the disbursement of operations and development funds to WARMA Mombasa Regional office.
He also received Sh160,000 from Simon Wachira Wang’ombe, Sh465,000 from Boniface Mbeu Mwaniki, to facilitate the operations of WARMA Nanyuki regional office and Tana Catchment Area.
He also faced a second count of corruptly receiving a benefit contrary to the Anti-corruption Act where on the same dates, he sent the same amount through MPesa transactions. to Mworia through Patrick Masaku as an inducement.
The DPP also accused him of receiving a bribe of Sh465,000 on December 12, 2012, and April ,2013 from Boniface Mwaniki as an inducement.
He was convicted on 4 counts and acquitted in two others counts.
