Former Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal has defended himself saying he was wrongfully prosecuted in a case in which he has been accused of corruptly receiving Sh84 million for the supply of petroleum products at the county government.
In his defence hearing, Lenolkulal relied on the evidence of the Head of Treasury at the Samburu County Government who he said stated there was no money lost.
Lenolkulal cited over 200 vouchers produced in court as evidence saying they are proof that there was a lawful transaction and all documentation was in order.
He maintained that the county government got value for money.
Lenolkulal is facing abuse of office and graft-related charges before the Milimani anti-corruption magistrate’s court.
He was charged in 2019 with four counts of abuse of office and conflict of interest leading to the loss of 84 million public funds.
He has been accused of using his company- Oryx service station- to supply petrol and diesel to the county.
The charge sheet indicates Lenolkulal ‘knowingly acquired direct private interests in contracts between Oryx and Samburu for the supply of fuel”.
He is facing the charges alongside Hesbon Ndathi, and eight others.
The court in July last year found he has a case to answer meaning he will have to defend himself on the accusations levelled against him by the state.
But the head of supply chain management Geoffrey Kitewan was acquitted after the court found that the state failed to prove the case against him.
The former County chief on Monday told the court that once he was elected as Governor, he took the first initiative to declare his interest in the Oryx service station.
He wrote a letter to the county secretary declaring his interest.
The letter was copied to all accounting officers and procurement officers.
It’s based on this declaration that Lenolkulal said the charges levelled against him are misplaced.
He said the investigative agencies ought to have considered his declaration before proceeding to charge him.
“The prosecution did not undertake adequate time to study the details regarding this case. We still believe it was a wrongful prosecution,” said Lenolkulal.
He said the conflict of interest against himself having been declared therefore cleared him from any wrongdoing.
“I have never benefited from any funds from Samburu county government paid through or otherwise transacted through Oryx service station,” he said.
Lenolkulal explained that he later transferred the proprietorship of Oryx and leased the station to one Hesbon Ndathi to avoid any cases of conflict of interest.
The court heard that Lenolkulal ceased being a signatory of the Oryx account with Kenya Commercial Bank in October 2015 upon recovery of monies from debtors some of whom were the national government.
But the prosecution’s case is that Lenolkulal used his proxies to conceal the real ownership of the Oryx service station in a bid to unlawfully acquire Sh84M from the county.
In his testimony in chief, the Investigating Officer Joel Nyongesa said Ndathi was an agent used by Lenolkulal to benefit from unlawful transactions.
