Two former National Youth Service (NYS) employees were on Thursday, October 31, found guilty of defrauding the service of Ksh791 million. This is one of the cases that gripped the country’s attention in 2015 as reports of NYS scandals emerged.
A Milimani Law Court convicted the two former NYS employees over conspiracy to defraud the NYS of Ksh791 million when they worked in the state agency in 2015.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), investigations show the two suspects were found guilty of making a false document contrary to Section 347(a) as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code.
Similarly, the suspects were accused of breaching trust by a person employed in public service contrary to Section 127(1) as read with Section 127(2) of the Penal Code as well as breach of trust under the same provisions.
Forgery is an offense contrary to Section 345, which is tied to Section 349 of the Penal Code. Similarly, the suspect will be charged with intending to use a false document, contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code.
The sentencing is scheduled for November 6, 2024.
The court win comes as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) embarks on a nationwide crackdown to verify documents used by civil servants to secure their jobs.
On Wednesday, October 30, the Commission arrested four officials among them two Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials for falsifying documents to get jobs.
Earlier, an IEBC manager was arrested for securing a managerial position at the electoral body with on April 4, 2012.
According to the EACC, there has been an upsurge in graft cases involving the faking of documents. The conviction comes barely a week after EACC recovered 121 official stamps believed to be used in the fraudulent scheme that caused Bomet County to lose Ksh1.6 billion.
The stamps were recovered from the house of a road engineer based in Bomet who is at the centre of the Ksh1.6 billion theft probe.
Legally, the act of securing a job position or getting a government tender using faked documents constitutes a fraudulent acquisition of public property and renders it a criminal activity.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE