Youth fund boss asked to step aside
What you need to know:
- It was alleged that the fund’s documents had been forged and used to transfer between Sh180 million and Sh200 million to an account belonging to a top official.
- The investigations are expected to be completed within 10 days.
Two youth fund officials have been asked to step aside.
The Youth Enterprise Development Fund’s board on Monday asked its acting CEO Catherine Namunye and financial manager Benedict Atavachi to step aside to pave the way for investigations following the alleged misappropriation of Sh200 million.
The board’s chairman, Mr Bruce Odhiambo, said investigations could not be carried out while the two were in office and asked them to voluntarily step aside as directed.
The investigations are expected to be completed within 10 days.
Sources within the board revealed that Devolution Principal Secretary Peter Mangiti had advised the board to suspend Ms Namunye over the fraud allegations, with the acting CEO being non-committal over the issue, prompting the board to ask her to step aside.
Mr Odhiambo justified the call, saying it was only prudent that the senior managers take leave to allow for thorough investigations without interference.
He absolved the board of any involvement, saying it was the committee that revealed some of the funds had been moved from one of their banks without the knowledge of board directors after being alerted by the Banking Fraud Unit.
Speaking at a press briefing in their offices in Nairobi’s Upper Hill, Mr Odhiambo, however, assured the youth that they would continue being served uninterrupted and that there was no cause for worry.
It was alleged that the fund’s documents had been forged and used to transfer between Sh180 million and Sh200 million to an account belonging to a top official in the organisation.
