Another NYS suspect shows up in court to avoid arrest

One of six suspects that a court last Friday ordered arrested over the alleged irregular payment of Sh47.6 million to a company named in the Sh791 million National Youth Service (NYS) scandal surrendered to the Anti-Corruption Court on Tuesday.

Florence Bett, accompanied by her lawyer Kirathe Wandugi, appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Felix Kombo and was charged with conspiracy to commit an economic crime.

Ms Bett surrendered a day after former NYS deputy director Adan Gedow Harakhe and Devolution Ministry administrator Hassan Noor Hassan appeared in court.

Ms Bett, who is charged alongside 17 others, among them Mr Harakhe, Mr Hassan and former Devolution PS Peter Mangiti, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

She denied that she conspired with her co-accused to commit an economic crime of unlawfully disposing of Sh47.6 million in public funds between December 12, 2014 and September 28, 2015 from the Devolution Ministry to Blues Star Enterprises.

A total of 24 civil servants were named in the charge tabled before Mr Kombo.

Ms Bett only faced one count among the eight filed against the other top Devolution Ministry and NYS employees.

She, Mr Harakhe, Mr Hassan, Kennedy Nyamao and Salim Ali Molla were expected to appear in court on November 25 but they did not show up, compelling Mr Kombo to issue warrants of arrest against them.

Only two of the subjects of the arrest warrants have not shown up in court. The two have lost an application at the High Court seeking to block their prosecution.

Mr Wandugi, who represented Ms Bett, applied to have the arrest warrant against her lifted.

The court was also urged to lift an order to forfeit a police cash bail of Sh50,000 deposited by the suspect.

Ms Bett was released on a bond of Sh700,000 with an alternative cash bail of Sh250,000.