Waiguru fate in NYS saga probe remains unclear

Anti-corruption chief Halakhe Waqo is non-committal on the fate of former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru in the fraud investigations at National Youth Service.

“I did not at any point or any of my officers declare that she is a suspect. I am still not going to declare it until a point in time when all this NYS business is scrutinised to know who is a witness or suspect,” he said.

The Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Executive Officer spoke to the Nation at Integrity House in Nairobi three months into investigations of the Sh791 million theft.

He expects to review the progress by end of the week.

Mr Waqo was accompanied by Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro and Assets Recovery Agency Director Muthoni Kimani.

The agency obtained court orders to seize assets worth more than Sh500 million believed to have been acquired using money stolen from the NYS.

The commission has recovered assets valued at more than Sh2.7 billion in the last three years.

Mr Waqo said the agency was also talking to the authorities in the United Kingdom to recover assets suspected to have been acquired with money embezzled in the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Mr Muhoro put fraudsters on notice, saying he had ordered his officers to change the way they conduct investigations so that stolen wealth is found.

“We shall no longer sit back until a crime is reported. We shall look into people’s lifestyles,” he said.

Mr Muhoro said the new approach would help to deter corruption.

He added: “We are going to work as a multi-agency to pursue proceeds of crime. It is not one-off exercise, but that is the way we shall be doing things henceforth.”

Ms Kimani said her agency would seek to freeze stolen assets during investigations as well as after prosecutions begin.