Revealed: Kericho County Officials Misused Londiani Accident Victims’ Sh14 Million

An investigation conducted by the Kericho County Assembly into the alleged misuse of Sh 14.5 million raised by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for 77 Londiani accident victims has revealed how the funds were distributed. 

After the tragic June 30th accident that killed 53 people and injured 24, Gachagua managed to raise funds via a fundraiser event in Londiani town, Kipkelion East constituency on July 4th. Six senior county government officers who were recommended for removal from office by a unanimous vote by the Kericho County Assembly will have to wait longer to know their fate. Governor Erick Mutai returned the report to the assembly, stating that he can only remove the County Secretary and the County Executive Committee members through an impeachment process.

The officers were found guilty of various offences, including forgery, professional negligence, violation of procurement rules, abuse of office, misappropriation of funds, non-disclosure of information, failure to be transparent and accountable, and flouting of the Public Finance Management Act. The individuals involved in the heist have been recommended for removal from their positions. However, they received a temporary reprieve after the county boss sent the report back to the assembly. 

The Chief Officer in the Governor’s office, the Public Service Management counterpart, and the Finance officer have all been implicated in the fraud but will have to wait to learn their fate as the matter has been referred to the Public Service Board. Although the officers are not answerable to the county assembly, documents presented to them by the executive arm of the county government detail how the money was spent before the Deputy Governor blew the whistle and an ad-hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter.

This week, a report is expected to be released by a committee led by Mr Johna Keter, which conducted a forensic audit on the disbursement of money. According to the documents, the Kericho County Referral Hospital and Londiani sub-county hospital raised medical bills of Sh 2,037,524 and Sh 1,534,190 respectively. Cheques were drawn and signed after approval from Dr Bor’s committee, in defiance of a directive from Dr Mutai that the county government would cover the cost of medication and morgue services for the victims.