[Senior principal magistrate Joseph Ndururi found the accused guilty, but acquitted 13 of Mr Chirchir’s co-accused.] (Nation)
A Kericho Court has sentenced a Bomet County official to five years in prison, after he was found guilty of abuse of office.
Ezekiel Chirchir, a procurement officer, was found guilty of the office, which also included the purchase of six ambulances amounting to Sh3.6 million.
Sitting in Kericho, Senior principal magistrate Joseph Ndururi found the accused guilty, but acquitted 13 of Mr Chirchir’s co-accused.
According to the court, the ambulances were purchased between the county and Kenya Red Cross.
“It is public knowledge that a huge percentage of corruption-related cases in Kenya revolves around the issues of procurement. It is, therefore, necessary where clear evidence has emerged of malpractice in the procurement process that the court should hand down a sentence that would send a harsh message to those involved in such malpractice,” said Justice Ndururi.
Ndururi said Chirchir was the head of procurement and carried the responsibility of ensuring goods and services are procured in accordance with the law.
Chirchir and his co-accused were facing charges of faling to comply with procurement procedures in 2013.
“The accused was entrusted with the authority to guard taxpayers’ money he had the option of nullifying the whole process but he chose not to,” added Justice Ndururi.