Kilifi supplier in hot soup over dubious payments

By Mrima Changawa

A Kilifi county supplier is on the spot over corrupt dealings involving supplies worth Sh3.9 million.

Susan Kerubo Muhindi, the supplier in the mix, is being accused of using manipulative ways to get paid for services she had not rendered.

Documents in our possession unmask the corruption web engineered by Kerubo through her company  Librio Africa limited which was  paid Sh3,951,886.98.

Her accomplice in the fraudulent deals as per our findings is Antony Mkala Chitavi, he was then the Managing Director of N.W.P.C

He is an established businessman in the larger coast region.

Chitavi who is fraudster was charged in court under criminal case file number 279 of 2011.

The Appellant herein was Convicted and Sentenced to a fine of Ksh. 800,000/= in default three years imprisonment for each of the two counts which faced him.

In the first count he was charged with Abuse of office contrary to section 46 as read with section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act No. 3 of 2003.

Listen to the conversation here:

In the second count he had been charged with willful failure to comply with the law applicable to tendering of contracts contrary to section 45 (2) (b) as read with section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act No. 3 of 2013.

The tender was to construct one ECD classroom and one pit latrine at Poleni Pre-Primary School in Matsangoni Ward under contract number KCG/QTN/ED/853172/2020/2021.

It is not clear which county officials helped her get the payments but it has emerged that Kerubo has over the years managed to manipulate county officials to get dubious payments.

Interestingly, Kerubo herself has been volunteering to share the information with scribes with the intention of manipulating top finance officials who have now declined to give attention.

The proceeds shared as per Kerubo amount to Sh 356,000.00

It has also emerged that the supplier has been fighting hard to have further payments made to her but her efforts have hit  a brick wall.

This is after the recently formed pending bills committee  raised a red flagg on fake pending bills in the county.

The auditor general has also flagged some bills in the county and it is possible that Kerubo is a victim.

“The pending bill task-force committee has declined her efforts to slot in some bills for her and that is why she is trying to create some confusion out there,” a senior officer at the county revealed.

The corruption syndicate involving Kerubo has severally been linked to other scandals among them a tender row where a bouncing cheque was issued to her business friend.

The matter was reported at Port Police in Mombasa, where she is being accused of acquiring money through false pretense.

A report from the Port Police indicates that she was given Sh500,000 by a friend supposedly for a business venture but when the friend asked for his money back, he was issued with a bouncing cheque which he deposited at NCBA Nyali branch.

The lady was later summoned to Port Police and the matter was corruptly handled after a senior police officer from headquarters intervened.She was to be charged with five counts, among them obtaining money through false pretense.

Media reports have previously linked her to the controversial Sh 89 million tender to construct a Solid Waste Treatment plant in Kilifi.

The tender would later be canceled due to budgetary and other logistical issues.In the latest ordeal, she is said to have been issued with a performance bond amounting to Sh8.9 million.

She later issued a bouncing cheque amounting to sh 500,000 as part of the payment to Mr David Kaburia who later reported the matter to the police.

In another incident in July 2022, Ms Muhindi was arrested arrested by officers from Kondele Police Station at Polyview estate in Kisumu Central sub-county.

She was arrested for the offence of obtaining money by false pretence amounting to Sh 400,000.

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