EACC recovers Garissa county vehicle missing for two years

EACC spokesman Yassin Aila on December 15, 2017 inspects a vehicle recovered at Kencont CFS in Mombasa after a two-year search by detectives. The vehicle is among 27 procured by the Garissa County government in the 2014/2015 financial year but only 26 were delivered. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • According to sources, the Garissa County government had procured a total of 27 Land Cruisers at cost of Sh186,360, 822.

  • EACC spokesman Yassin Aila said they have been searching for the vehicle for the last two years.
  • EACC has written a letter to the CFS directing it to hold the vehicle until further instructions are given

Detectives from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) in Mombasa have recovered a vehicle belonging to the Garissa County government which has been missing for two years since it was imported.

The Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle, recovered at Kencont container freight station (CFS) in Mombasa, was among 27 which were imported in the 2014/15 financial year but only 26 reached their intended destination in Garissa.

According to sources, the Garissa County government had procured a total of 27 Land Cruisers at cost of Sh186,360, 822.

EACC spokesman Yassin Aila told journalists at the CFS on Friday that they had been searching for the vehicle for the last two years.

“The county government had procured 27 vehicles, 26 of them were delivered except this one. According to our investigations, the total amount paid was also inflated to Sh246,932,000.

OFFICIALS PROBED

He said the commission is investigating officials from the Garissa County government who were involved in handling the vehicles.

"Initial inquiries have established that some 26 units of assorted types of vehicles may have been delivered to the said county prompting a tracking exercise to establish the location of the missing one unit," read a letter from EACC.

According to documents obtained by Nation, the county ran an undated advertisement and Alama Trading Company Limited, Nairobi was awarded the contract to procure the 27 vehicles.

Alama Trading MD Ali Ibrahim Kontoma stated that he won the tender and signed the contract with the county on September 1, 2014 for the delivery of 12 executive 4x4s, nine 4x4 all-terrain vehicles, four 4x4 pickup trucks, and two 1600-1800cc saloon cars from Dubai.

It is alleged that a county official contacted Mr Kontoma [and] asked him to hand over the order to the proprietor of Northern Rock Company Limited, Mr Abdirizak Abdullahi Maalim.

JOINT VENTURE

Alama Trading and Northern Rock companies, in a joint venture, supplied the said motor vehicles.

Upon tracking of importation documents by the EACC detectives, it was discovered that the clearing of the vehicles was done by Galaxy Logistics Limited.

“Contact with Galaxy Logistics led to the tracing of the missing motor vehicle to Kencont CFS warehouse at Mbaraki Mombasa,” Mr Yassin told Nation.

EACC has written a letter to the CFS directing it to hold the vehicle until further instructions are given.

The commission is still investigating the circumstances under which the vehicle for which all monies due have been paid continues to be detained in the warehouse since April 2015.

It also want to establish why the company which had no contract with the Garissa County government to supply the vehicles was paid.