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The study was to be carried out by Madam R. Enterprises (MRE) Ltd, an entity said to be from Germany.
- Oriko was Ojamoong’s second witness after he gave an unsworn statement in June 2021.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong’s witness has told an anti-corruption court there was no budgetary provision that led to the loss of Sh8 million at the county.
The money was meant for the study of solid waste management.
Jairus Oriko agreed with the prosecuting agencies who have accused Ojaamong of engaging in a scheme to defraud the county of Sh8 million by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding for a feasibility study that had not been budgeted for.
The study was to be carried out by Madam R. Enterprises (MRE) Ltd, an entity said to be from Germany.
Oriko was the man behind implementation of the solid waste management system in the county. He told anti-corruption magistrate Douglas Ogoti that Busia county engaged MRE to do the project through the MoU.
He acknowledged that the MOU is in reference to MRE Limited and not MRE as he had been referring to.
Prior to Wednesday's hearing, special prosecutor Taib Ali Taib produced documents from the Office of the Attorney General showing that MRE was registered in 2007 with its nature of business being general hardware.
A document from the Department of Registration Services revealed the company ceased operation in June 2014
Oriko, however, said there was no tender evaluation for the project, but he approved works done by MRE.
He also did not prepare any tender for the preparation of the feasibility study for the waste management project.
Oriko was Ojamoong’s second witness after he gave an unsworn statement in June 2021. He defended the Sh8 million spent on the study by the alleged German company.
Ojamoong, Madam R Enterprises, alongside other county officials, were put on their defence after the prosecution called twenty witnesses in the case.
The county chief has been charged with abuse of office and engaging in a project without proper planning.
The other co-accused Lenard Wanda Obimbira and Allan Ekweny Omachari, the Finance executive and Finace chief officer respectively, wilfully failed to comply with the law relating to management of funds.
They are accused of knowingly approving payments amounting to Sh 8,000,000 to Madam R Enterprises Ltd for a feasibility study on solid waste management, a project for which funding had not been appropriated.
(edited by Amol Awuor)