Mututho accused of faking papers in Sh41m fraud case

Mr Mututho has denied the charges of obtaining Sh41.3 million from KNH using false documents in 2001. FILE

By RICHARD MUNGUTI, rmunguti@ke.nationmedia.com

IN SUMMARY
Police investigator has accused Nacada chairman John Mututho of faking KRA documents to claim Sh41 million from Kenyatta National Hospital.
Mr Mututho has denied the charges of obtaining money from KNH using false documents in 2001. The charges were made in 2005.


National Campaign Against Drugs Abuse (Nacada) chairman John Mututho used different documents to claim Sh41 million from Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) alleging he had paid duty for goods imported by his company for the hospital, a court heard Wednesday.

Senior deputy commissioner of police Joseph Henry Ashimalla, who investigated the payment 12 years ago, told senior principal magistrate Elena Nderitu that documents recovered from Mr Mututho were different from those at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) offices in Mombasa.

“When I interrogated Mr Mututho he gave me the import documents used by his company, Countryside Suppliers Ltd, to claim compensation. They were different from the ones I was given by customs officers at the KRA longroom Mombasa,” Mr Ashimalla said.

The KRA officers told him “the documents handed to him by Mr Mututho did not emanate from their office.”

“They told me the import declaration forms didn’t originate from the Mombasa KRA office although they were similar but with different serial numbers,” the deputy commissioner testified.

Mr Ashimalla— who in July 29, 2002 was attached to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) banking fraud unit — said he was instructed by the director of Criminal Investigations Department to inquire into two files concerning the payments of Sh57 million and Sh41 million to Countryside Suppliers Ltd.

The first tranche, he said, was 80 per cent payment for goods supplied while the Sh41.3 million payment raised queries.

But Mr Mututho, through his lawyer Cliff Ombeta, said the case was politically instigated.

“You commenced the case against Mr Mututho during the referendum. You were used by the director of criminal investigations (DCI) to charge Mr Mututho because of his political stand,” Mr Ombeta told Mr Ashimalla, who denied the allegation.

Mr Ombeta accused the investigator of giving contradictory testimony on the dates he took over the investigations from Kennedy Bosire.

Mr Mututho has denied the charges of obtaining Sh41.3 million from KNH using false documents in 2001. The charges were made in 2005.

He was first arraigned before judge Margaret Muigai, but the case was transferred to senior principal magistrate Stella Muketi, who was later transferred from Nairobi.

This forced the case taken to be taken over by chief magistrate Gilbert Mutembei. Mr Mututho is out on bond and would be jailed for three years if convicted.