- Says he got Sh50 million, while co-directors Jacob Juma and Grace Wakhungu got Sh113 million and Sh40 million respectively
- Waluke says Juma could have been killed because of the case as 'he rubbed shoulders with the big boys'
Image: FILE
Sirisia MP John Waluke has defended Sh200 million his company received from the National Cereals and Produce Board 10 years.
Waluke, while denying claims Erad Supplies and General Contractors Ltd received the payment fraudulently, told a Nairobi court the payment was pursuant to a court directive.
He said this was after an arbitrator ruled in favour of the company and they moved to court to enforce the award.
Waluke told chief magistrate Elizabeth Juma that from the payout, he got Sh50 million, while co-directors Jacob Juma and Grace Wakhungu got Sh113 million and Sh40 million respectively.
While being led by his advocate Isaac Rene, the legislator said Juma, who has since died, took advantage of their absence in the day-to-day running of the company to pocket the largest share of the amount.
Waluke said Juma could have been killed because of the case as “he rubbed shoulders with the big boys”.
The MP said the company sued NCPB for breach of contract after it failed to give them letters of credit upon securing maize from Ethiopia. He said their company won a contract to supply 400,000 metric tons of maize but the state terminated the deal due to lack of funds.
In 2004-2005 after drought hit the country and there was a shortage of over six million bags of maize, the Ministry of Agriculture in a letter dated July 19, 2004 instructed NCPB to purchase two million bags of maize for famine relief and the Strategic Grain Reserve.
The prosecution accuses the two of uttering a false document and fraudulent acquisition of public funds.
The charges against them state that being directors of Erad Suppliers & General Contractors Ltd, they presented a false invoice of $1,146,000 (Sh115,072,725) on February 24, 2009 as evidence in the arbitration dispute between the company and NCPB.
They allegedly purported that the invoice was to support the cost of storage of 40,000 metric tonnes of white maize, which was allegedly incurred by Chelsea Freight. They allegedly obtained Sh297,386,505 on March 19, 2013 for loss of profit and interest allegedly incurred by Chelsea Freight.
In June 2013, they further obtained Sh13,364,671 purporting to be the storage for the maize. On the last count, they are accused of obtaining $24,032 (Sh2,413,113).
The hearing continues.