By Francis Orina
Four former workers of the County Government of Nyamira appeared in court Wednesday and faced various charges including illegally requisitioning and employing 56 county staffs.
The court heard that the 56 were absorbed into the department of gender sports and culture in 2016.
Also Read
Those arraigned were Peter Ogwara (former Gender Executive), Beatrice Siriba (former Vice Chairperson of the County Public Service Board), Ogeto Michira (then Acting Chief Officer in the department) and Jadwick Sangara, a staffer at the department.
They appeared before Chief Magistrate Bernard Ochieng, charged with offences ranging from abuse of office, illegal requisition of employment and conferment of employment, and forgery of academic certificates.
Two others including Eric Onchana (former County Secretary), were represented virtually by their advocates.
Others who did not appear were the former chairman to the Board, Peter Nyakundi and the then Chief Executive Officer and Secretary to the Board Robert Mochache.
Nyakundi and Mochache will be charged with similar offences after the court directed so.
The prosecution had earlier on asked the court to issue a warrant of arrest against them for failing to answer summons from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
However, their counsel who appeared online argued that there were no formal summonses issued to their clients.
Mr Ochieng, while dispensing the matter ordered the prosecution to do formal summons to Nyakundi and Mochache, who should appear before him on Friday.
Prosecution Counsel Vane Mochama told the Court that the officers, who were jointly charged, wrongly used their offices to confer benefits to 56 staffs against the law.
“On diverse dates between June and November 2016, being the chairman, vice chairman and secretary to the County Service Board improperly used your offices to confer a benefit to 56 staffs with appointment to employment in the department of Gender, Youths, Sports and Cultural Services,” the charges read in part.
Ogeto on his part was charged that at around the same dates, he requisitioned for an additional 43 staffs to be considered for employment in his department against the legal provisions on procedures for employment.
The suspects denied the offences and were released on a Sh500, 000 bond, or an alternative of a Sh200, 000 cash bail each.
The matter will be mentioned again on Friday when the other three suspects who did not appear in court will be arraigned.
