NAIROBI, May 19 (AGCNewsNet) - The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Monday arrested former Kirinyaga County Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri over the irregular award of a road construction tender worth Ksh. 7,150,000.

Ndambiri was arrested alongside Peter Meeni, Director of Jestam Enterprises Limited, following investigations into the award of a tender for the construction of Kibingoti Shopping Centre Road in Kiine Ward during the 2018/2019 financial year.

The tender, awarded to Jestam Enterprises Ltd, was linked to the then Deputy Governor. According to the EACC, Jestam Enterprises Ltd was incorporated on October 13, 2017, with Mr. Peter Meeni, a brother-in-law to Hon. Ndambiri, as the sole director. However, Hon. Ndambiri was the sole signatory to the company’s bank account held at Ecobank.

The commission also revealed that at the time of tender application, Jestam Enterprises was not registered with the National Construction Authority (NCA) and had presented a forged certificate to qualify for the tender.

After being awarded the tender, the company received the full contract sum, from which Ksh. 5,461,000 was withdrawn by Ndambiri through cheques issued between February 26 and July 5, 2019.

Upon conclusion of the investigations, the EACC submitted the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who concurred with the Commission’s recommendations.

The suspects face multiple charges, including conflict of interest, fraudulent acquisition of public property, fraudulent practice in a procurement process, and conducting business without a valid NCA certificate.

Both suspects pleaded not guilty, and the court granted cash bail of Ksh. 200,000 for Ndambiri and Ksh. 300,000 for Meeni.

Source: APA News

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