Josephine Kabura, the key suspect behind the Sh1.6 billion NYS scandal, may have lied about her connection with another suspect, Ben Gethi.
Kabura, who is accused of masterminding the crime, denied knowing Gethi prior to her arrest and subsequent appearance over the matter in court.
She told the Public Accounts Committee on November 1 that she has never met Gethi prior to the court proceedings.
Committee chair Nicholas Gumbo: Have you ever met Ben Gethi?
Kabura: (hesitates) We met the first time I was arrested
Gumbo: So that is the first time you met Ben Gethi?
Kabura: Yeah.
Gumbo: You have never met him before?
Kabura: Not at all ...
She said this even as committee members disputed her testimony, murmuring loudly that she was lying.
However, a testimony filed by DP William Ruto's aide Farouk Kibet, the link between Gethi and Kabura is confirmed.
Kibet provides an account showing the
two may not have merely been acquaintances, they were friends.
Kibet said in January 2014, he had requested Sh2 million from Gethi to assist a patient who was going for specialised treatment in India.
Though he denies ever knowing Kabura, he said he received a Sh500,000 deposit from Kabura as part of the loan.
In March of the same year, he received an additional Sh1 million from Kabura.
Interestingly, when the first deposit was made, Kibet's bank balance read Sh7 million raising questions on why he was in need of the funds from Gethi.
When the second deposit was made, his account has Sh12.2 million.
Kibet said in his testimony that he refunded Gethi the money in June 2015.
These details dispute information Kibet gave the DCI that the money he requested from Gethi was for a harambee.
PAC would want to establish why Kibet failed to question the nature of Kabura's deposits and why she made them on behalf of Gethi.
It would also be upon them to establish the link between Gethi and Kabura, since the latter made the deposits on behalf of Gethi, and why Kibet repaid Gethi rather than Kabura.