Lesiyampe, top NCPB officials seized over maize scam

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives Thursday morning pounced on Agriculture Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe as he left his house located in Muhuti Court on State House Road, Nairobi, as the roundup of those suspected to have been involved in the maize scandal kicked off.

The EACC officers had arrived at Dr Lesiyampe’s home earlier, camped outside the gate and waited patiently for him to pop out of his home.

He was then driven to the Integrity Centre where he was questioned for close to seven hours alongside National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) finance officer Cornel Kiprotich Ng’elechey.

The EACC Head of Communications Yassin Amaro said Mr Ng’elechey was arrested at his house in Buruburu Phase Five Estate.

The detectives had been tracing the NCPB managers since the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji approved their prosecution over the irregular purchase of maize by the agency.

OVERSPENDING

Former NCPB Managing Director Newton Terer, who was also being sought, made his way to the Integrity Centre where he was grilled together with Dr Lesiyampe and Mr Ng’elechey. They were later taken to court at 1pm.

Dr Lesiyampe is facing charges of overseeing overspending of funds by NCPB outside the budget.

He has also been accused of failing to ensure the maize was bought from farmers according to the law.

“Upon investigations it was established that NCPB spent Sh11,365,879,918 thereby exceeding the Sh6 billion budgeted for.

"The Strategic Food Reserve Oversight Board had budgeted to purchase two million bags of maize for financial year 2017/18 at Sh6 billion. This expenditure was not budgeted for contrary to the law,” the DPP said in a statement.

SUSPECTS ARRESTED

EACC Deputy Chief Executive Michael Mubea said the commission completed its investigations and forwarded the file to the DPP on July 23, 2018.

“The DPP recommended the prosecution of 16 suspects,” Mr Mubea said, adding that 10 people had been arrested in Eldoret and Nairobi and several others, among them public officials, and maize traders, were being sought.

In Eldoret, four senior NCPB staff and a chief were among the seven suspects arrested and held at the EACC North Rift regional headquarters for hours as they awaited their transfer to Nairobi.

The EACC executive director in charge of North Rift Jackson Mue named those arrested as Eldoret NCBP silo manager Renson Kibet Korir, Caroline Kipchoge (regional accounts clerk), Eric Tallam (Eldoret depot records officer) and Virginia Wamaitha (accounts clerk, weighbridge).

Others were Peter Chirchir (agricultural officer, Soy division), David Barng’etuny (assistant chief) and Paul Marus alias Soiben (farmer).

“The findings into Sh11.3 billion funds for maize that started in May and concluded on July 23 and approved by the Director of Public Prosecutions targets 16 suspects, 10 of whom are in Eldoret and the rest, among them principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, State Department of Agriculture, Richard Lesiyampe,” Mr Mue said on phone.

CHEAP MAIZE

He said the EACC detectives were pursuing the other six suspects who are still at large.

“The suspects committed irregularities during the vetting process at the committee level, documentation at the NCPB and allowed illegal payments,” Mr Mue added.

The crackdown on the suspects started as early as 5am when EACC detectives picked two suspects before the rest were arrested in their homes before 9am.

Uasin Gishu County Director of Agriculture Joseph Cheboi was also being sought.

The EACC detectives said they were looking for Mr Cheboi who was said to be sick and receiving treatment in a local hospital.

The detectives have in the last three months pitched camp at various NCPB depots in western Kenya where the cheap maize suspected to be from Uganda and Mexico was delivered and prompt payment made to the cartels at the expense of genuine farmers.

DELAYED PAYMENT

Eldoret, Moi’s bridge, Kitale, Nakuru, Bungoma and Kisumu are some of the NCPB depots on the spotlight.

The forensic investigators are out to establish if genuine farmers were denied an opportunity to supply maize to the depots in favour of traders, as well as if bribery was involved in the entire process.

Security was beefed up around the EACC Eldoret office after some of the farmers, most of whom have not received outstanding payments for maize deliveries to NCPB, thronged the office following the arrests.

Those interviewed appealed to the government to hasten the prosecution and those found guilty made to face the law. Farmers are demanding Sh3.5 billion.

“The arrests are not enough. We want real culprits behind the scam to be jailed,” Mr Joel Katam, one of the farmers, said.