The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is probing a senior manager at the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) over multimillion wealth acquired that is not in tandem with his earnings.
EACC has already filed a case in court seeking to freeze wealth owned by Ketraco supply chain manager Peter Maina Njehia and his wife Julie Hellen Matu, suspected to be proceeds of graft.
The couple owns a number of properties including 18 parcels of land in Nakuru and Kiambu counties, three apartment blocks in Nakuru and Nairobi, and nine vehicles.
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According to EACC, the properties do not reflect his monthly income of Ksh326,745 per month, which he has received for about five years.
“Our investigations have revealed that contractors and suppliers to Ketraco have been bribing senior officials, including Njehia, to facilitate payments and awarding of the contracts. We suspect that he used the money acquired through corruption to acquire the properties,” said EACC lawyer Pius Nyoike.
EACC is also targeting Njehia’s accounts in Stima Sacco Society Limited under his wife’s name to be frozen.
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According to EACC investigator Shadrack Mwenda, Njehia is part of a clique of public servants at Ketraco who have been facilitating corruption in the state agency and benefitting from the proceeds of corruption.
“He used the illegally acquired funds to purchase shares at Stima Sacco in the name of Julie Hellen Matu. Investigations have revealed that purchase of the shares and deposits in the accounts were meant to conceal source and movement of the funds,” said Mwenda.
In some of the deals, Njehia is said to have instructed a Ksh30 million payment to a contractor without authority and awarded some tenders without approval.
“The actions of Njehia and the circumstances under which some stated properties were acquired indicate that cash transactions were sent to the vendors immediately after executing the sale agreements, which raised suspicion to the source of his funds,” said Mwenda.
In one instance, the couple was found with a cash of Ksh1.2 million which they could not explain the source.
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