The Acting Clerk and Accounting Officer of the Nyamira County Assembly, Duke Onyari, was on Friday charged in court over alleged irregularities in a Sh30.1 million procurement contract for the construction of the county assembly office block.
According to the charge sheet, the charges follow his arrest on June 2, 2026, in Nairobi, after which he was transported to Kisii, processed, and released on a cash bail of Sh200,000 pending plea taking.
He was later admitted to Bosongo Medical Centre on June 4 and discharged on June 11, 2026, before being re-arrested the same night and held at Kisii Central Police Station ahead of his arraignment.
Onyari was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Christabel Agutu at the Kisii Law Courts, where he faced a count of abuse of office contrary to Section 46 as read with Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA).
"On 13th June 2018, at Nyamira County in the Republic of Kenya, being the Acting Clerk and the Accounting Officer of the County Assembly of Nyamira used your office to improperly award a tender Number CAN/T/027/2017-2021 for the proposed construction of the Nyamira County Assembly office block to Jetta Builders Ltd, which was not the lowest evaluated bidder, thereby conferring a benefit of Sh30,187,396/= to Jetta Builders Ltd," the charge sheet reads.
He was also charged with willful failure to comply with procurement procedures contrary to Section 45(2)(b) as read with Section 48 of ACECA.
"On the 13th day of June 2018, in Nyamira County within the Republic of Kenya, being the Acting Clerk of the County Assembly of Nyamira and the Accounting Officer thereof, and being a person charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, you wilfully failed to comply with the law relating to procurement, to wit, Section 86(1)(a) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, 2015, in that you awarded Tender No. CAN/T/027/2017–2021 for the proposed construction of the Nyamira County Assembly Office Block to Jetta Builders Limited, notwithstanding that the bidder had not submitted the lowest evaluated responsive bid," read the charge sheet.
The prosecution listed several witnesses expected to testify in the case.
According to the charge sheet, the witnesses include Kennedy Arasa Nyaberi, Daniel Oginda Orina, Bernard Nixon Omenta, Jeremiah Mokua Bosire, and Augustine Mukwekwe, among others, to be stated during the trial.
The accused pleaded not guilty to both counts.
His defence counsel argued that his rights had been violated, while still under treatment, despite having already posted cash bail.
The defence further noted that he was released on the same cash bail amount initially deposited at the police station.
However, the prosecution dismissed the claims, stating that the accused had already been discharged from hospital at the time of re-arrest and presented medical documentation to support the position.
The DPP urged the court to consider the gravity of the offence, noting that the case involved public funds amounting to over Sh30 million allegedly lost.
In her ruling, Principal Magistrate Christabel Agutu ordered that Onyari be released on a cash bail of Sh400,000 or a bond of Sh1 million with a surety of the same amount.
The court also directed him to deposit his passport by June 15, 2026.
The matter will be mentioned on June 29, 2026, for possible consolidation with a related case before Keroka court.
The hearing has been scheduled for August 18, 2026.
