Mandago Among 7 To Be Arrested, DPP Approves Fresh Charges In Finland Saga

There are plans to arrest Senator Jackson Mandago and seven others for new charges related to the Sh50 million Finland education scandal. On Wednesday, according to officials, detectives were pursuing the suspects for processing and prosecution....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

This is after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga approved the charges proposed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

The Uasin Gishu County government founded the Sh1.1 billion scholarship program during Mandago’s era, and EACC has been investigating it.

This is after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) requested and failed to obtain critical evidence from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in order to proceed with the case, officials said.

The ODPP, according to insiders, had noted a number of gaps as the case kicked off in a Nakuru court.

The EACC then requested that the DCI provide the ODPP with evidence, including key documents, to ensure the prosecution proceeding smoothly.

The DCI later requested that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which has been under investigation and has the necessary information, replace the current case against Mandago and three others before a Nakuru court.

The DCI said, among other things, that they had not gotten the money trail in the matter, which EACC had established in their probe.

Deputy director of investigations at the DCI, Paul Wachira, wrote to Ingonga on September 19, indicating their intentions to withdraw the charges against Mandago, Meshack Rono, Joseph Kipkemboi Maritim, and Joshua Lelei.

The DCI acknowledged that before the matter was registered in court, they had not covered a number of areas.

The DCI argues that the EACC has stronger evidence that can lead to the suspects’ conviction and enable them to recover the stolen money.

The DCI stated that their probe did not establish the number of students admitted to Finland’s universities, specifically Tampere, Laurea, Jyvaskylla, Gradia Consortium College, Metropolia, and LUT, nor the amount of academic fees and other incidental costs paid by each student.

Wachira stated in the letter that “we did not secure the original documents, as EACC had already collected them, and we did not know the number of students admitted to Canada’s universities, namely Thompsons Rivers, Northern Lights College, and Sternberg College, as well as the amount of academic fees and other incidental costs paid by each student.”

“The number of visas processed at the Embassy of Finland and the High Commission of Canada for students who were to travel to Finland and Canada, respectively, as well as the visa processing fee, were not known.”

He stated that agents serve as an intermediary between the County Government of Uasin Gishu and universities in both countries, providing crucial evidence. However, the question of the Pathways Studies program, which Finnish universities introduced later and became relevant during the hearings, remained unexplored.

The DCI stated that they failed to specify the program’s introduction stage, the mode of delivery (online or offline), the provider, the cost per student, the number of students involved, and whether the cost included the entire academic year fee.

“We requested all the aforementioned information from both countries through Interpol and Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA), but we have not yet received a response.”

“So far the above-stated issues have featured prominently in the hearings, and the defence counsels are taking advantage of the lack of such important information,” Wachira added.

He stated that they had observed biases on the trial court’s part, suggesting that the defence was driving the trial.

This was evident during the previous hearing date, when the trial court issued arrest warrants for prosecution witnesses based on an application from the defence, completely disregarding the court’s procedures for issuing summonses.

“This was a clear indication of the trial court’s violation of court procedure.”

Wachira said that since EACC has custody of original documents, which they took from the County Government of Uasin Gishu, and they further travelled to Finland and Canada for investigations to obtain evidence from various institutions, it is beneficial for the anti-graft agency to introduce their case.

He said, “We request the withdrawal of the case before the Chief Magistrate Court Nakuru Court number 5 under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code and the fresh charging of the accused individuals through the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigation.”

Throughout the story, EACC detectives travelled to Finland and Canada and interrogated students.

According to the latest developments, Ingonga issued new orders approving the EACC probe file.

On September 25, Ingonga wrote to EACC, approving the new charges and additional suspects.

“In response to my letter from November 16, 2023, I order the arrest and arraignment of the suspects for plea negotiations.”

He stated, “The DCI’s abandonment of the Nakuru case has caused this.”

The other new suspects include Phylis Wanjiku Warigi (Gender Officer, Deputy Governor’s Office), Tony Kibet Tanui (Principal Education Officer, Youth Affairs and Sports Department), Joel Rutto (Director, County Education Revolving Fund Youth Affairs and Sports Department), Skill Dove Limited, and any other entity that fraudulently acquired monies related to the fund.

The EACC detectives conducted a separate probe as part of the Sh1.1 billion Finland scholarship scam.

On August 17, 2023, Chief Magistrate’s Court Nakuru first arrested Mandago and the other individuals, arraigned them, and entered a plea of not guilty.

The other suspect, Joseph Kipkemboi Maritim, is still at large and is believed to reside in Canada.

The matter’s hearing, which began on July 1, 2024, has already seen 26 witnesses testify and 12 witnesses bond.

They will face charges of conspiracy to commit an economic crime, abuse of office, breach of trust, fraudulent acquisition of public property, and uttering a false document contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code…CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES>>>