A case in which five traders are charged with defrauding a businessman of Sh88.7 million in a scheme involving the award of fake government tenders failed to proceed on Tuesday.
The matter was set for hearing before Kiambu principal magistrate Stella Atembo but could not go on as one of the suspects, Mercy Wahiga Wanjiku, was absent.
The magistrate had earlier directed that arresting officer and the complainant first testify so that the over 700 desktops and laptops can be released to the owner before they expire.
This was after senior state counsel Christine Mbevi informed the court that the prosecution wants the items to be released to the complainant since the suspects have not claimed ownership.
During the proceedings, however, the magistrate ordered that the case be heard today with or without Wanjiku. She also directed that since Wanjiku is represented, her lawyer will proceed with the case in her absence.
Atambo further ordered that Wanjiku avails documents showing she has been attending to her three-months-old child at the Kenya National Hospital.
The other suspects, Mapili David, Jackson Kiharo, Michael Okongo and Alex Kesyoka, were present and denied the charges.
The complainant is alleged to have been given fake Local Purchase Orders (LPOs) and letters of the award with government letterheads and stamps for three contracts estimated at Sh230 million.
The alleged fraudulent deals involved the supply of 797 laptops and windows software supposedly to the Ministry of ICT at Sh125,926,000 and Sh28,692,000 respectively.
Idris, through a second firm, Sanabil General Supplies Ltd, got a letter of award for the supply and delivery of Panolin Hydraulic Lubricant to Government Printer at a cost of Sh74,520,000.
All the three awards are dated August 6, 2018 and signed by M Mapili for Principal Secretary.
Idris said one of the suspects introduced himself as acting head of procurement at the Ministry of ICT and could often meet him in the ministry’s Teleposta offices on either the ninth or 10th floor.
The suspects had told the businessmen that the government was using restricted tendering since the laptops and hydrants were required urgently.
Upon getting the first LPO, using his first company Naliye Agency limited, Idris ordered the gadgets from China.
It is said that when the complainant went to Teleposta to deliver the laptops, he was informed that government stores were full and instead asked to deliver the pieces at a store in Hurlingham.
On the supply of hydrants, the four are said to have introduced the businessman to a dealer who could supply him with the material for onward delivery. He paid Sh23 million to the ‘approved dealer’.
It is said that when he went to pursue his payment, he was informed at the Treasury and ICT ministries that there was no such a tender.
According to the police, other than the arrest of the suspects, they had impounded top-of-the-range vehicles they suspected might have been acquired using the money they had defrauded. The cars included a Land Cruiser V8 and Ford Ranger double cabin.
