Tobiko promises prompt action on Mumias scam

Politics and policy

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko. PHOTO | FILE 

By OLOO WINNIE and EDWIN MUTAI

In Summary

• DPP told the Senate that the Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro had completed investigations into the multi-billion shilling scam and submitted the file to his office for action.
• President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday directed anti-corruption agencies to prosecute individuals behind Mumias’ financial troubles and repossess their properties to recover the stolen billions.

Mumias Sugar Company managers accused of stealing 3,000 bags of sugar and deepening its financial troubles could face prosecution in coming weeks, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko told the Senate on Thursday.

Mr Tobiko said Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro had completed investigations into the multi-billion shilling scam and submitted the file to his office for action.

The file was submitted last month following three months of investigations that began in February, Mr Tobiko said.

The revelations came a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta directed anti-corruption agencies to prosecute individuals behind Mumias’ financial troubles and repossess their properties to recover the stolen billions.

Mr Kenyatta spoke in Mumias on Wednesday where he handed over a Sh1 billion bailout cheque to the cash-strapped sugar miller.

Amos Wako, who chairs the Senate’s Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee, had wanted to know from Mr Tobiko why investigations into the Mumias scandal were taking so long.

“The Mumias investigation is taking too long to be solved, even in the letter you wrote to the office of DCI in February, they replied that it was at an “advanced stage” but nothing appears to have happened four months later,” said Mr Wako.

Mr Tobiko said he could not determine the speed of investigations because his role is limited to directing the relevant agencies to act on matters of public interest.

“I can only direct the investigative agencies to act on cases. I cannot investigate them by myself but make my decisions based on the evidence brought to me. For now I cannot speculate,” he said.

The DPP directed Mr Muhoro to act in the wake of media reports that former Mumias managers had brought the sugar miller to its knees through pilferage and mismanagement.

Mr Tobiko revealed that reluctance by witnesses to testify against former colleagues had delayed the process.

The DPP said ongoing investigations of senior public officers accused of corruption were facing strong political headwinds with claims of bias and unfair “targeting”.

Mr Kenyatta declared in Mumias that the anti-corruption agencies must be afforded the independence that the law grants them to dispense their mandate.

READ: Uhuru calls for seizure of Mumias looters’ assets

Last year, audit firm KPMG’s presentation to the Mumias board, pointed an accusing finger at the miller’s top executives, causing their dismissal for importing sugar and repacking it as products of Mumias Sugar for sale in the local market.