A long-running corruption case involving the loss of millions of shillings from Kilifi County has ended with heavy penalties for ten individuals and companies found responsible for the fraud.
The Anti-Corruption Court in Malindi sentenced the convicted parties to a combined 75 years in prison and imposed fines exceeding Ksh198 million after finding them guilty of multiple corruption-related offences.
The court ruled that the accused participated in a scheme that led to the fraudulent loss of more than Ksh52 million from county coffers.
The offences included fraudulent acquisition of public funds, forgery, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit economic crimes.
The case dates back to 2016 when irregular payments were detected within Kilifi County’s financial system. Investigations later revealed that senior county finance and accounts officials had allegedly manipulated the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to process payments for goods and services that were never supplied.
According to investigations conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), approximately Ksh51.5 million was transferred from county accounts to six private companies that existed only on paper.
The firms reportedly had no record of delivering any goods or services to the county government despite receiving substantial payments.
The suspicious transactions prompted investigations that eventually led the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to freeze part of the money.
However, investigators established that a large portion of the funds had already been withdrawn from various bank accounts in Nairobi and other parts of the country before the freeze was implemented.
Those linked to the scheme were first arraigned in court in 2018 and released on a Ksh5 million bond as investigations and legal proceedings continued.
The hearing formally began in July 2024, with prosecutors presenting financial records, banking documents, and witness testimonies that traced the movement of funds from Kilifi County accounts to the beneficiary companies.
Evidence presented before the court showed that the six companies were allegedly used to channel public funds through fictitious procurement transactions.
Witnesses testified that payments were made for supplies and services that were never delivered.
Court proceedings further revealed that a former IFMIS liaison officer, working alongside senior finance clerks, allegedly manipulated system credentials and bypassed approval procedures to authorize the transactions.
The judgment is being viewed as one of the most significant convictions involving the misuse of county government funds in recent years and is expected to strengthen efforts aimed at promoting accountability and protecting public resources.
