10 due in court over cemetery land scam
What you need to know:
- Accused linked to the Sh283m scandal that hit council
About 10 people will soon be arraigned in court over a multi-million-shilling cemetery land scandal.
Among those targeted are senior officials in the Local Government ministry and Nairobi City Council.
Attorney-General Amos Wako has received the recommendations against the senior officials from the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (Kacc) and forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko for action.
The suspects are linked to the Sh283 million Nairobi City Council graves scandal through which the public lost nearly Sh160 million.
Said Mr Wako: “Yes (I have received the report). It is being perused by the Department of Public Prosecutions.”
The Daily Nation learnt on Tuesday that Kacc handed over their files to the AG nearly two weeks ago.
In the cemetery fraud, public funds were used to buy a 120-acre plot in Mavoko township, considered by experts to be unsuitable for graves.
It is understood Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi is not in the list of the people recommended for prosecution.
But lawyers from four law firms are recommended for the prosecution.
Reached for comment on Tuesday, Kacc acting director John Mutonyi chose not to comment on the status of the investigations.
Instead he chose to comment on a story about the new method of fighting corruption, called integrity testing programme.
The revelations come less than a week after councillors endorsed a new plan to spend more than Sh150 million for the purchase of an alternative land for the graves.
A new grave site is seen as a priority because the current one in Langata, Nairobi, is full and cannot accommodate more bodies.
According to the law, Mr Wako is expected to study the Kacc recommendations and decide whether to flag off the prosecutions or dismiss the cases altogether.
He may decide to toss the files back to Kacc.
Some Sh283 million was used to buy a plot whose real price was Sh24 million and the balance distributed to 17 recipients, some of them middlemen, con men, civil servants and lawyers.
