$99m lands NYS boss in trouble
The theft of $99 million has led to the arrest of head of Kenya’s National Youth Service, Mr. Richard Ndubai.
In spite of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pledges to stamp out graft when he was first elected in 2013, critics say he has been slow to pursue top officials.
They added that only big-name convictions will break what they call a culture of impunity.
Privately-owned Citizen Television and K24 TV said the youth agency official, Ndubai, had been arrested, along with an unspecified number of officials.
Kenyan media have said 10 billion shillings (99 million dollars) had been stolen through fictitious invoices, and multiple payments on one supplier invoice, at the NYS.
The Media could not contact Ndubai, who is in custody, for comment, and was unable to immediately trace contacts for his lawyer to seek comment.
The reports have dismayed many Kenyans, particularly as they come in the wake of a 2015 scam at the agency, which aims to equip Kenya’s young people with key skills and help create jobs.
Last week, investigators summoned more than 40 people, including Ndubai, for questioning over the lost funds.
Kenyatta has blamed the slow progress in tackling corruption on the lethargy of some government agencies charged with rooting out graft.
According to The Star newspaper of Kenya, the Kirinyanga-born Ndubai was a former permanent secretary.
He holds a PhD of Philosophy in Performance Contracting, Measurement and Public Service Delivery from the University of Nairobi.
Ndubai also holds a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA. He did his Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting – Honors) at the University of Nairobi.
Since 1977 where he started his career as Sales Tax Inspector at the Ministry of Finance, he had risen through the ranks.
In 1982, he worked as a Senior Principal Inspector of State Corporations at Office of the President before moving to the position of Principal deputy director of Personnel Management at Office of the President in 2002.
He worked as the Secretary, Performance Contracting at Office of the President from 2008 when he was promoted to Permanent Secretary, Public Sector Reforms & Performance Contracting, Office of the Prime Minister.($1=101.0000 Kenyan shillings)
