Thursday, July 1, 2021 -Deputy President William Ruto’s Mt. Kenya ally Rigathi Gachagua is in trouble following graft investigations which are now completed against him.
Intensive investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations DCI have un-earthed a rotten web of fraud led by MP Gachagua in which he allegedly used 40 different companies to transfer billions of money to different bank accounts. The amount in question having been estimated to sh 12 billion. Lots of this money was paid to Wamunyonyo Investments in which Gachagua and wife are the sole owners.
DCI Kinoti revealed that the vocal Tangatanga MP had registered several brief case companies as well as used proxies to win multi-billion state tenders.
“While a company known as Upperdeck Agencies won a Sh. 9.4 million tender to supply linen to Nyeri County hospitals, its proprietors were listed, in the bank records, as Gerald Waema Mbatha and Moses Otieno. Detectives later found out that when the money was paid on February 18, 2015, the entire amount was transferred to Wamunyoro Investments Limited, leaving a balance of Sh. 5 only,” partly read the report.
According to the Daily Nation, detectives also found out that those listed as proprietors were not the real signatories to the bank accounts. Instead the sole signatory was Mr. Sammy Cheborgey who is an employee at Mathira National Government Constituency Development Fund NG-CDF.
Further, MP Gachagua’s accounts at Rafiki Deposit-taking Microfinance indicated that he secured loans to cover up for funds he was siphoning from government departments through dubious tenders. This was part of his efforts to hide away the real beneficiaries of the cash.
“The bank statements were noted to have made minimal or no payments whatever to ‘would-be’ suppliers, yet they receive large amounts for supplies (and) works done. This is likely to imply that no supplies are made or works done,” the DCI said.
After these developments, the MP will now be required to defend himself against the accusations from the Asset Recovery Agency ARA which has since moved to court seeking to recovery.
Fresh reports from ARA indicated that while trying to freeze the accounts, MP Gachagua moved with speed and withdrew a whopping sh 7.3 billion which he distributed to various investments. Only sh 5.2 billion was remaining. He has also scattered assets around the country.
